The Infinity Particle
by judybrowneyes
Summary: When Winona Kirk interrupts a breakin in her home office, her subsequent head injury, and the theft of her SF issued computer, lead Jim, Gavin, Leonard and Spock down a dark rabbit hole of intrigue and danger.
1. Chapter 1

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter One**

 **"Who wants to live forever**

 **Who wants to live forever**

 **Forever is our today**

 **Who waits forever anyway?"**

 **Queen**

Captain James T. Kirk sat relaxed and at ease in his Captain's chair, his favorite chair in the entire universe. At present, there was nothing pressing or urgent that needed his attention, so Yeoman Rand was standing right by the Captain's chair. Being the highly efficient yeoman that she was, and striking while the iron was hot, she was having him sign off on the mountain of padds that she was handing him one by one. As soon as each one was signed, she'd put it in her large carry-all bag and hand the Captain the next one. The fact that there was no protests, no frowns, no moans and groans, attested to the relaxed, good humored status of the Captain. There was even a slight smile on his handsome face.

Jim Kirk, was, in fact and in truth, generally very good humored. His sunny disposition and sunshine smile were something that his crew enjoyed, strived for, and even treasured. But, as his crew was well aware, he was never happy when he had to do reports or sign off on the weekly, monthly and quarterly mountain of padds that Janice would accost him with. The crew all had tremendous respect for Janice, she didn't bat an eye when the Captain glared at the pads and by extension her. She remained stoic, unimpressed, and unfrazzled every single time.

"That's the last of them, Captain. You're finished. What's more, you're up to date, and in fact, even a little ahead for next week."

"Really, Ensign? I believe that's a first. You're now dismissed. Go forth, enjoy yourself, and be happy. You can now have some well deserved time off."

A big smile crossed Janice's pretty face. "Thank you, Sir. As soon as I send these off I'll do just that."

"Good...now shoo, Ensign. Let me bask in the glow of knowing all paper work has been completed."

Janice shooed and Jim leaned back to look at the large view screen in front of him. They were in a very pretty part of space, he thought. It was densely populated with stars, planets, moons, and asteroids. The Alpha quadrant had been pretty well explored by Starfleet and other Federation worlds' ships, and it was nice to know they were flying through a friendly neighborhood for a change. No Klingons, Romulans, Orions, or even annoying Betazoids trying to get too close to your person in order to get personal information out of you. No pugilistic Tellerites, or supercilious Andorians going at each other's throats. Nope, today, and hopefully tomorrow, too, he had only his great crew and amazing bridge officers to deal with.

He glanced at his chronometer and toggled his personal comm button. It was almost lunch time.

"Sick Bay." Bones' Southern lilt sounded relaxed, so it seemed there was no excitement in Sick Bay either.

"Bones, are you free for lunch?"

"Just a sec, Jim. I'll check."

Jim could hear conversation in the background and then Bones' voice again. "Appears I'm free, Jimbo. Also appears these people wanna' get rid of me. Probably wanna' party hardy while I'm gone. Sick Bay is totally empty of patients, miracle of miracles."

Jim could hear Christine's distinctive chuckle in the background.

"Great! Meet you in the mess in ten." He swiveled his chair. "Mr. Spock, would you care to join us for lunch?"

"Not today, thank you, Captain. Although I will miss Dr. McCoy's scintillating conversation, I am in the process of upgrading one of the Science console modules."

"Very well, Mr. Spock. In order not to disturb your work, Mr. Chekov, you will have the con."

"I vill?" Asked the surprised Chekov.

"You will," smiled his Captain.

"Thank you, Keptin." The gratified and delighted Chekov slipped into the Captain's chair beaming. It was his first time to sit in the Captain's chair and have the con. Perhaps he would ask Sulu to take a holo to send his parents.

Jim turned on his way to the lift. "Oh, Mr. Sulu, please take a holo of Mr. Chekov in the Captain's chair. It is his first time to have the con after all, and he can send it to his parents and siblings."

"Will do, Sir." Sulu grinned over at the happy Chekov.

Chekov sighed happily. That's why they all loved their Keptin. He often did things like this, small things to make his crew happy.

Jim saw that Bones was already at their usual table in the corner. He picked out his food choices, amiably greeted his crew as he walked by them, and sat down facing Bones.

"No hobgoblin today?" Bones' blue eyes questioned him.

"No, he's in the middle of an upgrade or something, so he can't join us."

"Now, that's just a real shame," Leonard smirked.

"Bones!" Jim's hazel eyes glinted with sudden ire. "You know, it's past time you give this a rest. It used to be your give and take was just in fun, but now you're always baiting Spock, and it seems that most of the time it's you that starts things. It would be good for you to remember that Spock is your immediate supervisor, and also that it's gotten really old, both for me and for the entire command crew." Jim put his fork down and looked hard at Bones. "Why do you keep on doing it, Bones? I know you have a reason, and I'd like to know what it is?"

Leonard looked at Jim's set face. He was very seldom chastised by Jim, but it was obvious that Jim had had enough. "I'm sorry, Jim. I guess its gotten to be a bad habit to jab at Spock. And yes, you're right. I do have a reason, a good one. It was by way of an experiment. As the ship's psychologist it's my business to keep an eye on everyone's mental health, not just the Captain's, but every crew member on board this ship, and that includes Spock, much as he'll deny he needs monitorin'. I started with these little verbal jabs to get a human reaction outta' him. He's half human, and he's negated and suppressed that whole half of his psyche. He's the most repressed person I've ever known. I can assure you, that it's not healthy at all.

Why even the full Vulcans we've met aren't as uptight and repressed as Spock, and that includes Sarek, T'Pau, Stonn and T'Prin. One of these days the consequences of what he's doing to himself are going to be dire. I was hoping that my little jabs would make him react in a purely human way, let him express annoyance or impatience or some honest emotion. I realized a while back that my experiment wasn't working, but I'm sorry to admit that now it's become a bad habit. I promise I'll try to curtail it. I can't just stop altogether, or Spock will get suspicious, but I'll certainly cut way down on my verbal jabs." The remorseful blue eyes looked at Jim.

"All right, Bones, I'm counting on you to do that. I knew you had to have a reason, you don't really have a mean or vindictive bone in your body, but your behavior has escalated to the point where I had to say something. It's hard for me to see my best officers and dearest friends always sniping at each other. At times it's been amusing, but lately it's just gotten out of hand."

Leonard nodded, shamefaced. "You're right to call me on it, Jim."

"Not just you, Bones, Spock is just as guilty, and I'll be speaking with him as well. He seems to derive some sort of perverse pleasure from trying to get the best of you." He put down his fork again and looked steadily at Bones. "As his doctor, do you really believe all this repression will ultimately be harmful to Spock?"

"Yeah, I really do. That's why it's so concerning to me. One of these days the emotions that he won't admit to, and is completely unwilling to express, will get the best of him, and I'm fearful of what the consequence to him will be. He won't be able to cope with them at all and he'll do something "logical", foolish, or downright stupid. You, me, and Uhura are the only ones he seems to relate to on any personal or human level at all. I even saw him smile at Uhura once."

"So what can we do for him, to help him?" Jim bit at his lip worriedly.

"I don't know, yet, Jimmy. It's not like there's another half Vulcan around that we can compare him to. I'm gonna' have a talk with Geoffrey and see if he has any insights that might be helpful. His knowledge of Vulcans far surpasses mine. I'm not very hopeful, though. We have to proceed very carefully, because Spock will put up even more barriers if he gets wind of any of this."

"Well then, he won't get wind of it. Whatever we decide to do, we'll be very discreet. Meanwhile, I'm counting on you to keep a close eye on Spock's behavior."

Jim's communicator beeped. "Kirk here."

"Sir, you have a comm call from Commander Gavin Bradford. It's coded 'For Your Eyes Only', Captain."

"Gavin?" Jim's suddenly alarmed and puzzled hazel eyes met Leonard's. It was usually Violet who commed Jim to catch up, with Davy sitting happily on her lap, and Gavin sometimes sitting with her.

"I'll take it in my Briefing Room, Uhura. I'll be there in a minute."

Bones' eyes followed him worriedly as Jim hurried out of the mess. He didn't run to the lift, but he did walk very fast. Running alarmed the crew while fast walking was SOP for almost everyone on board the ship, most especially the Captain.

Jim exited the lift, nodded to Uhura and went directly to the Briefing Room. He locked the door and activated the sound proofing. "Ready, Uhura," he told her lovely face on his screen.

Gavin's face came on. He looked drawn and worried. "Jim..."

"What's happened, Gavin? Violet, Davy?"

Gavin swallowed hard and Jim's stomach sank in premonition. "No, they're fine, Jim. It's your mom."

"Ma? Something's happened to Ma?"

Gavin sighed. "Yeah, and it's pretty bad, Jim."

"What happened?" Jim said through thinned white lips.

"As far as we've figured out. Someone broke into the farm house, accosted Winona in her office, stunned her with a phaser, and as she fell, her head hit the edge of the desk. She's unconscious and has a concussion. Whoever did it, then searched the office, took off with her computer, and practically destroyed her office."

"Peter?" Jim asked him tightly.

"Peter is the one who found her, Jim. He was at a friend's house playing, and when the friend's mom dropped him off, Peter ran in the house and found Winona unconscious with her head bleeding. He looked for her comm to dial 911, but when he didn't find it anywhere, he ran to the barn, jumped on Ginger and galloped to your neighbor's house. You can be very proud of him, Jim. He kept his head. He called Jonathon, told him how he'd found Winona, and Jonathon called the ambulance right away. He told Peter to stay with your neighbor until he could pick him up. Peter's fine, Jim, just scared and very worried about his Noni. Jonathon met the ambulance at the farm house, and while they transported Winona to the ER, he checked the office over carefully. Then Jonathon picked Peter up and took him to Mama Salvatore's. He also called the farmer who leases your mom's acreage to take charge of the animals for a few days. Your neighbor said not to worry, he'd take care of Ginger, Dapple and the chickens. Jonathon also picked up Sorrel from the house and took him with his carrier, food and water to Peter. Having his cat with him made him feel a lot better and he's totally safe at Mama's, Jim."

"And Ma?" Jim whispered, dread pooling in his gut.

"She's in a Des Moines hospital for now, under guard, but the C in C is having her moved to Starfleet Medical as we speak. He's taking no chances with her safety. As soon as those thugs realize her computer was wiped, they may try to go after her again."

"Admiral Nogura? Why in the hell did the C in C even become involved in this?" Asked the shocked Jim.

Gavin stretched his back. He was very tired. "It's a long story, Jim. I'll tell you everything in a minute, but first things first. Your ship is being ordered home, tell Mr. Scott best speed. The Admiral has made this a high priority, highly classified mission."

Jim didn't really care about his new orders right now, the only thing he cared about was that he was getting home to his mother and Peter. He desperately needed to talk with Peter, he must be terribly frightened. "Let me give Scotty that order, Gavin, and I'll be right back with you." He toggled his comm.

"Spock here."

"Spock, take the con and tell Scotty best speed to San Francisco Space Central. We have new orders from the C in C."

There was a tiny pause of surprise before Spock responded. "Yes, Sir."

Almost instantly, Jim felt the increase of warp speed as he leaned forward to the large screen trying to contain his worry and impatience. "Alright, Gavin, tell me exactly what happened and how the C in C got involved in all this."

"Getting Admiral Nogura involved was initially my doing, Jim. Jonathon commed me right away about Winona, and I immediately reported it to my boss because Jonathon told me about the theft of Winona's computer. I know she works with highly classified research data so I immediately realized that the break in was problematical as far as classified data was concerned. My boss agreed with me and he passed on my report to his own C.O., Admiral Corrigan. The Admiral immediately ordered SIS to wipe Winona's computer remotely. That was done right away, so there's absolutely no data left on it. Because it was Dr. Winona Kirk, Admiral Corrigan passed the news to the C in C, knowing his close connection with the Kirk family. Admiral Nogura immediately commed me to take over the case and to inform you of your new orders."

"But why, Gavin, what has all this to do with why Ma was attacked?"

Gavin settled more comfortably in his chair trying to ease his tight muscles. He'd been awake since yesterday morning, and his body was staring to protest. "Okay, here's what we know so far. This all started a few months ago on a small class L planet called Lamma II. It's a marginal planet, with a primitive ecosystem which supports only Terran type Bronze Age vegetation. As it is presently, its barely habitable, but after initial surveys it was deemed a good possibility for terra forming. A small Federation group of scientists and Agronomists were sent there to investigate the indigenous vegetation and the feasibility of growing other plants. The Agronomists found several promising plants already thriving. However, one plant that they found was, to say the least, unique. The plant they harvested was found to be 500,000 years old, give or take 5000 years. They determined it had been continuously alive for that long, and it was still as fresh and vibrant as a newly grown plant."

"The Agronomists knew they had found something very special, so they cataloged it and sent it on to Fleet, to the Terran Agronomy Department for further testing. A very small, highly select group of Fleet Xenobiologists and Agronomists went over every molecule of that plant and after they completed their study, they plastered the highest level of security on it and all their results were designated as Level 4 classified. It was decided that all their data should be forwarded to Winona so she could check and double check their research. After all, she's renowned as the best Xenobiologist in Fleet. That was done several days ago, but we think that somewhere, somehow, there was a leak, either on Lama II or on the research team, and someone found out about the real age of the plant and that Winona had all the data. Whoever these people are, they broke into her office to find the plant data. I think she surprised them, so they stunned her. I don't believe they really wanted to hurt her, they just wanted get her out of the way while they searched her office and computer files. Her head injury came from the way she fell against the desk. Seeing all that blood, probably panicked them so they just took the computer and her comm with them and ransacked her office to make it look like a regular break in."

"They didn't know that Ma never leaves classified data on her computer. She always inputs all her research and data into a chip every day, so there's never anything of value left on her drive. She's always done that, since Sam and I were children. With little boys running in and out of the house, as well as all our friends and relatives, she's always been extremely careful with her files. Her office is never even locked because there's nothing of any real importance on that computer."

"I know, Jim, but obviously these people didn't know that." Gavin rubbed his tired grey eyes. "Do you have any idea where Winona might have hidden her data chip?"

"None. But maybe when I get home I can help you look for it." Jim sighed in frustration. He was desperate to get home. He could hear the hum and slight vibrations of the ship's warp engines. Scotty was really pushing the warp drive. "Gavin, who of my crew are cleared for this mission?" Jim asked.

"Doctor McCoy for one. He's badly needed at the hospital, Jim. Tom Jeffries is stationed there now and he specifically wants Leonard to take lead in Winona's case. It is a brain injury and Leonard is first and foremost a renowned neurosurgeon. The C in C also wants Mr. Spock. As soon as we can find the chip, the Admiral wants Mr. Spock to go over all the research and data on it. Anyone else from your crew that you think might be essential, you have Carte Blanche to add them to the mission." Gavin' face was somber. "Jim, the moral, ethical, and financial implications for this plant are staggering; think what breaking down the genetics of this plant could mean?"

"If it's DNA makeup can be duplicated or cloned in some way for the human genome, it means virtual immortality," Jim answered bleakly. "There are ruthless beings across the quadrant who would stop at nothing to gain that kind of knowledge."

His thoughts went spiraling back to one of his most unusual missions, which was still highly classified. During an away mission to the planet, Holdberg 917G, to search for the life saving mineral ryetalyn that Bones needed for Jim's sick crew, they came across a human male living totally alone on the planet. The man called himself Flint, and he insisted that the _Enterprise_ landing party leave immediately. After Jim convinced him of their dire need for the mineral, Flint reconsidered, and allowed them to use his robot to collect the necessary ryetalyn. Spock, investigating Flint's library discovered that he was over 6000 years old. He had been born in 3834 BC and had lived many different lives on Earth and on other planets. He had been Leonardo de Vinci, Brahams, Solomon, Alexander, among many other brilliant and important people throughout history. His accumulated knowledge was vast, acquired during many lifetimes, but, as he told Jim, the end result of his vast age and incredible knowledge was profound loneliness.

Jim remembered what Flint had told him. That for millennia, he'd had to endure an utter sense of aloneness, the knowledge of knowing that since he didn't age, he had to hide that fact. He could never stay in one place for long, or live a normal life. Soon enough he would have to disappear, leave his home and family behind before anyone became suspicious of his unchanging age. Over and over again he would outlive everyone he'd ever known, cherished, and loved; friends, lovers, wives, children

With difficulty, Jim brought his attention back to Gavin. He didn't know why, but thinking about that mission, always made him feel uneasy and troubled. ( **1)**

Gavin turned in his chair as someone behind him spoke to him. "I gotta' go, Jim. Now don't worry about Peter. Mama Salvatore and Marie will take good care of him until you get here tomorrow. Violet and Davy are going to visit with him today and so is Father Joe. I know you want to talk with him right away, so I'll notify Marie to expect a comm call from you. Do you know your ETA yet?"

Jim looked down at his comm. Spock had inputted their ETA.

"Tomorrow morning 0945. Please tell Marie I'll comm Peter as soon as Uhura can patch me through on my personal comm."

"I'll tell her right away. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Jim. I'll meet you at the Space Central lounge and take you and Leonard straight to the hospital Try not to worry too much about Winona. Tom says she's stable, and her vital signs are strong. And while she does have a concussion, it's not life threatening. He just wants a consult with Leonard.

Jim nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Gavin out."

Jim toggled his comm. "Uhura, I'm sending you a comm code. Please patch me through as soon as possible."

"Aye, Sir. It will take a few minutes to get through the communications relays."

Jim waited impatiently until Marie's personal comm buzzed. She answered immediately. "Jim, Peter is right here. He's all right, Jim, just scared."

"Uncle Jim?" Peter's voice sounded small and very frightened.

"I'm right here, Squirt. I'm coming home. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

There was a quick indrawn breath, and then an ill suppressed sob. "Noni got hurt, Uncle Jim. She was on the floor when I found her. Her face was all white, and she had alot of blood all over her head and forehead. I couldn't wake her up!" Peter shuddered as he began to cry in earnest. "I was so scared, Uncle Jim!" He hiccuped. "Is Noni going to be okay?"

Jim bit his lip. He longed to reach out to Peter and pull him in his arms to comfort him. He grimaced in frustration, pulled himself together, and began the very difficult task of comforting the heartbroken, frightened child he loved so much across the millions of kilometers.

—-

 **1 TOS Episode Season 3 "Requiem for Methuselah"**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 2**

 **"Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous.**

 **More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions."**

 **Primo Levi**

After finishing his talk with Peter and closing his comm, Jim leaned back in his chair and tried to relax. He felt drained. It had been extremely difficult to comfort Peter. Jim had repeatedly assured him that Dr. Jeffries had said his Noni was going to recover completely. Also, Dr. Bones would be there very soon to take care of his grandmother. That, more than anything, seemed to reassure Peter the most. He had boundless faith in Dr. Bones, as, of course, did Jim.

Jim got out of the chair, pulled at his gold tunic, and left his briefing room. He stopped at the communications station to speak softly to Uhura. "Lt. Uhura, please advise Dr. McCoy, Mr. Spock, and Mr. Scott that I'll have a level 4 classified briefing with them in 30 minutes. You're also included in the briefing, so please arrange for your relief."

Uhura raised surprised eyes to Jim, but all she said was "Aye, Captain." She spoke softly into her comm to the three officers Jim had named. Jim saw Spock glance at him from the con, but the Vulcan said nothing to Jim. He went back into his briefing room to organize his thoughts and his notes into some semblance of order. Every single bit of intel that Gavin had shared with him was included. At this point in time, nothing was too trivial not to be included. Any thoughts, ideas, scenarios, and conjectures that might come from his officers (except for Spock, who, no matter how often Jim told him hunches and guesses could be of value, always refused to conjecture) could be of some value.

Jim almost smiled as the door opened. All four of his officers came into the briefing room together, well before the thirty minutes he'd specified. All of them, including Jim himself, along with most of the _Enterprise_ crew, shared an almost insatiable curiosity about anything and everything that had to do with their five year mission.

"Have a seat everyone." Jim told them, and then turned to Scotty. "How are our engines behaving, Scotty, I know we're pushing her."

"Dinnae' worry yourself about the engines, Captain. She's handling maximum warp beautifully. If I notice anything untoward, I'll notify you right away, Sir, but I dinnae' expect it. Our lass can take a lot, that she can, as we all know."

"Good, that's good, Scotty. We'll need every bit of speed we can get out of the warp engines to get there by morning."

Jim straightened his tired back and ordered the briefing room sound proofing and door lock to engage. "I had some very troubling news this afternoon from Commander Gavin Bradford," he told his officers.

"Gavin?" Leonard exclaimed. "Violet, Davy? Are they all right, Jim?" he asked anxiously.

"It's not them, Bones. They're fine. It's Ma."

"Winona?" A startled, alarmed, Leonard looked at Jim's drawn, pale face. "What's happened to your mother, Jim? Is she all right? And Peter?"

Jim nodded in reassurance. He told them what had happened to Winona in her office, about the break in, her head injury and concussion, that she was being treated by Tom Jeffries at SFM and that Peter was being taken care of by Marie Salvatore in Riverside. Jim assured them that he would see Peter tomorrow after planet fall. He saw the worry on all their faces ease; they all loved the little boy and were highly protective of him.

"The break in and Ma's injury is the conclusion to a rather long series of events, so let me begin the briefing with all the intel that Gavin gave me. Please get your padds out and take detailed notes, then encrypt them immediately after the briefing. This briefing is considered level 4 classified." Four pairs of eyes looked up, surprised. Level 4 classified was the highest security classification for any _Enterprise_ mission.

Jim pulled out his own padd and glanced down to his notes. Starting from Gavin's comm call, point by point, he went over everything Gavin had shared with him. When he finished, there was absolute silence from his four officers.

"This is indeed a very troubling chain of events, Captain." Spock finally spoke, his voice somber, "This type of knowledge, a sort of virtual immortality, once acquired by unscrupulous individuals could be sold or bartered across the quadrant for millions, perhaps billions of credits. Once it becomes known that there is such a thing, a source of near immortality DNA, it is highly likely that some beings will stop at nothing to acquire it. Wars, murders, extortions, heinous crimes could be perpetrated against innocents and guilty alike; unscrupulous beings would acquire it, then sell it on the black market. It could create havoc in the known worlds."

Jim glanced at Bones who had been unusually silent.

"Above all I must not play at God...," he whispered.

"Bones?" Jim, hearing the quiet murmur, looked at him in question.

Leonard sighed. "This plant DNA would be a terrible temptation to dangle in front of anyone, Jim. Imagine if you could have both yourself and all those you loved most with you practically forever. Never having to worry that you'd lose them to death too soon. Who's to say if any of us wouldn't succumb to that kind of temptation."

His keen blue eyes looked at his Captain. "I assume that since we don't have Winona's data, there's a lot of questions still to be answered about this plant. I would like to know if the plant's DNA also promises that it will keep you at a certain age. Would you stay young and healthy, in your prime so to speak, or would you age in very tiny increments for millennia? Could you still die in an accident, or from a terminal illness, or even from a phaser shot?" He looked with troubled blue eyes at Jim. "The whole idea makes my head hurt just thinkin' about it. It's a whole huge kettle of worms we're talkin' about here, Jim. The moral and ethical implications are enormous and unprecedented."

"I know, Bones. That's why the C in C wants Spock to check all the research data as soon as we find the chip...you'll check it too, as soon as you finish your consultation with Tom and agree that Ma is going to be okay with the treatment he's following. I don't know for sure, and we won't know until we find Ma's files, but apparently there was quite a bit of research still left to do on the plant, and a lot of unanswered questions about it still waiting to be answered."

"Captain, did the Fleet Agronomists and Xenobiologists keep copies of the research they have completed on the plant?"

"According to Gavin, they didn't, Spock. Since it was a deemed level 4 classified research, after they sent their findings to Ma, Gavin said they were more than happy to wash their hands of the whole thing. They were much more interested in the results of the Lamma II terra forming research and findings than in that plant."

"Don't surprise me none," muttered Leonard. "I wouldn't want to touch somethin' like that with a ten foot pole. Terra formin' is a lot more conducive to practical application and success without ethical and moral implications."

"Most irregular," Spock said. "Redundant data storage of research results is standard protocol. In the event data is lost somehow, there is always a backup copy available of the results."

Jim saw Bones open his mouth to voice a testy rejoinder, but Jim caught his eye and he closed his mouth immediately.

"You were going to comment, Doctor McCoy?"

"Nope, no, wasn't gonna' say a thing, Mr. Spock."

Spock looked at him with a gleam of surprise in his dark eyes, but said nothing more.

Jim sent Bones a small appreciative smile and cleared his throat. He turned to his Chief Engineer. "Scotty you'll have the con for the duration of this mission. Since we'll be docked at the San Francisco Ship Yard, it'll be a good opportunity to replenish our ship's stores, fill the water tanks, and, Bones, you can ask Christine to stock up on any extra meds you think you might need. Scotty, be sure the yard dogs double check all our dilithium crystals and, of course, I know you'll keep on top of any additional Engineering needs."

"Aye, Sir. Dinnae' concern yourself about anything on the ship. You focus on Dr. Kirk and young Peter. I'm sure the lad was very frightened finding his grandmother so."

"He was, Scotty. Peter cried when we talked, but by the time I ended the comm call, he'd calmed down. It helped when I told him I'd see him tomorrow and Dr. Bones was going to take care of Ma." He huffed a worried sigh. "Bones, you'll give him a thorough going over when you see him, please? He's come such a long way since last year, and I'd hate for him to have a setback."

"Of course I will, Jim. Don't you worry about that. And I'm sure that as soon as he sees Winona awake and talking, it will go a long way to reassure him. Having you there will also help a lot."

"All of us will give him as much attention, affection and reassurance as we can, Captain," Uhura told his softly.

"Indeed we will. As my time permits, we will play a chess game or two. Peter-kam always enjoys our chess games."

"Thanks guys, I appreciate your care and concern for Peter. Bones, I really want Peter with me in San Francisco at my apartment." Jim rubbed his hand down his weary face. "But my worry is child care. None of us will be free to spend much time with Peter. Violet is working and has her hands full with Davy, so are Mama Salvatore and Marie, so are Father Joe, and Jonathon. They're the only ones I trust to be anywhere around Peter. I just can't have him in Riverside, away from me. He needs me right now."

"He sure does. You provide tremendous security for the child."

Everyone was silent as they thought of who could take care of Peter in San Francisco.

"Captain, if I may, I do have a suggestion," Spock interjected suddenly. "My father and mother are presently in San Francisco for the bi-annual meeting of the Federation Council. T'Lane is with them as she usually is. I am very sure my father would be amenable to "loaning" T'Lane to help you with Peter. You know that they have a strong friendship bond and she is utterly trustworthy."

"Spock! Of course she is, and Peter loves her, but I couldn't possibly impose on your father like that. T'Lane is his assistant and I'm sure she has many duties to perform prior to the Council sessions."

"My father has many assistants to aid him," Spock said, serene and unperturbed by Jim's protest. "And once my mother is aware of your need for assistance with Peter, there will not even be a discussion about it. T'Lane will become available to take care of Peter in your apartment. My mother may also have some free time to visit with him. They would both enjoy that."

"Good idea, Spock," Leonard told him. "It's a perfect solution."

Again there was that small start of surprise from Spock at Leonard's compliment. Leonard smiled benignly at him, his blue eyes twinkling.

Jim looked gratefully at his First. "Thank you, Mr. Spock. It is, as Bones says, a perfect solution, but only if you're sure Sarek is willing."

"I am quite sure, Captain."

Jim turned to his communications officer. "Uhura, you've been unusually quiet all through this briefing. Is there something troubling you?"

"No, Captain, not troubling me exactly, but I am wondering what my role in this mission will be? What can I contribute? I want to be of real assistance to you not a dead weight."

"Uhura!" Jim sounded a little shocked. "You are one of my most valuable officers. Right now we have no idea what will be required from any of us, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your presence is essential. I will need my very best officers helping me to get to the bottom of this."

A faint flush bloomed on her high cheekbones. "I'll do my best, Sir. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

"'Course you will, darlin'. We couldn't do without you." Leonard squeezed her hand affectionately.

"I concur with the doctor, Lieutenant. Your many skills cannot be overstated."

Bones looked at Jim. _See_ , the blue eyes said, _he does have a human reaction towards Uhura._

 _Yes, I see,_ the hazel eyes answered. "That's it for now, people. Everyone except for Dr. McCoy is dismissed to return to their duty stations. Spock you have the con until I'm back on the bridge. By the way, who has the con right now?"

"I asked Lt. Hannity to take the con, Captain. She is in need of con hours this quarter."

Jim nodded. All the command crew had to log in a certain amount of con hours each quarter. Most of the younger officers got their required con hours on Beta and Gamma shifts, when there was usually only minor routine activity, but the more experienced junior officers also had to take the con during the much busier Alpha shift as well.

With a small frown directed at Leonard, Spock rose and followed Scotty and Uhura out of the briefing room.

Leonard sighed. "Spock didn't like that, Jim, that you asked me to stay and not him."

Jim frowned. "I need to talk with you about Peter, Bones. It's nothing to do with the ship or ship's status, so Spock really doesn't need to be here for this conversation. I'll update him about Peter later." He spoke irritably. His worry about Peter was making him impatient and irritable with the Spock and Bones dynamic.

Leonard nodded. "What is it, Jimbo? Somethin' else worrying you about Peter?"

"Yeah, Bones. Tomorrow we're going to Riverside with Gavin to check Ma's office. I'll pick Peter up from Marie's and take him back to my apartment. What I want to know is this. Should I take him to the hospital to see Ma while she's still unconscious. Will it reassure him or make him worry more about Ma?" He raised troubled eyes to Bones. Peter had had so much trauma in his young life,( **1)** that Winona and Jim were always hyper vigilant about his mental and emotional well being.

Leonard looked at Jim's anxious face. "Jim, I'll check on Winona first thing. Knowing Tom! I'm sure that she looks fine, that the forehead contusion has been completely regenerated already. She'll look as if she's just sleepin', nothin' at all alarmin' about her appearance. I think it'll reassure Peter if we're honest and frank with him about her concussion. I'll explain everything about a concussion to him gently, simply and carefully. He's very bright; he'll understand her condition and realize it's temporary. In my opinion there's nothing worse than lying to a child, or for the child to be kept in the dark. That's a good way of having them imagine the worse. By the way, before I forget, Peter will feel much better if he has his cat with him at your apartment. He surely loves that kitty."

"Don't worry, Bones. Where Peter goes, Sorrel goes too," Jim told him, smiling slightly at the mental picture of Peter and his beloved cat. "You've seen Peter through the worse of his trauma and handled him beautifully through it all, so I wanted to get your opinion about taking him to see Ma. He's doing so well now, and he loves and trusts you implicitly."

Leonard swallowed hard, moved beyond words at Jim's praise. He got up and placed a warm hand on Jim's broad shoulder. "Thanks, Jimmy. I'll send Spock in to you now. Let's keep him in the loop, before he gets pissy. Besides you know Peter loves the hobgoblin too and though he'll never admit it, I know Spock's worried about Peter."

The fact that Bones agreed with him about Peter, relieved a great deal of Jim's worry. Spock came in and stood silently waiting at the briefing room door for Jim to acknowledge him.

"Come in and sit down, Spock. I wanted to talk to you about Peter, but I had to get Bones' medical opinion first."

Jim saw the rigid set of Spock's shoulders relax. "Of course, Captain."

Jim told him about his plan for going to get Pete in Riverside and then taking him to the hospital to see Winona and what Bones had said about that. "What do you think, Spock? I know you always have Peter's welfare in mind, and I wanted to ask your opinion too."

Spock nodded, his dark eyes never leaving Jim's. "I agree with Dr. McCoy's assessment of the situation, Jim. Peter is a highly intelligent, sensitive child. To keep Dr. Kirk's condition a secret from him, might do a great deal of harm. Visiting his grandmother in the hospital with you, and your indicating your confidence that she will be fine, will go very far in reassuring the child."

"That what Bones and I think, and I'm glad you agree. It eases my mind that the three of us are on the same page regarding Peter's welfare and peace of mind. He is my first priority, always."

"I think you will find that we, your senior officers who know Peter, would wholeheartedly agree with you about your priority, Captain. The presence of T'Lane will also prove to be beneficial."

"It was a great idea you had about T'Lane, Spock. I can't thank you enough, and your father, of course." Jim gave him a pleased, relieved smile. "Now then, getting back to our mission. Our first order of business when we arrive in Riverside will be to find Ma's data chip. According to Gavin, we have to find it before whoever broke into Ma's office and stole her computer, comes back to search again. By now they're well aware that her computer has been completely wiped of all data."

Jim drummed restless fingers on the table, thinking. "After Bones examines Ma, we'll have a better idea how long she'll remain unconscious. Bones says that after a concussion, there's always a possibility of temporary memory loss, so we also have to take that into consideration. Ma's memory may be impaired when she regains consciousness and she may not remember right away where she hid the data chip."

Spock nodded. "The aftermath of a concussion can be unpredictable. It is to be hoped that Dr. Kirk's memory has not been compromised."

"We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it," Jim replied. "Meanwhile, Ma will remain closely guarded at the hospital. We may also have further orders from Admiral Nogura when we get to San Francisco. We'll have to wait and see."

"So until we have Dr. Kirk's data file in hand, I will not be able to conduct my review of the plant research?"

"I'm afraid that's the reality of the situation, Spock, so right after I see Ma, we'll go straight to the farm to search for it. Gavin, you, Uhura, and I will meet Jonathon there. We know the farmhouse and all its nooks and crannies pretty well, the barn too, so we'll do a thorough search. The chip is very small, so, knowing Ma, I think she would have put it in something else to keep it clean and safe. Her office is the last place she'd hide it."

"I agree. Dr. Kirk is an eminently logical scientist and she is well aware of the secrecy protocols that are inherent in her research and even more so for a level 4 classified report."

"That she is, and has always been. I think that's it for now, Spock," Jim said standing up. "Let's go mind the store." Spock followed him out of the briefing room to the bridge.

—

 **See TOS Episode " Operation: Annihilate!" Season 1**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 3**

 **"Seeing the obvious is often harder**

 **than seeing the hidden!"**

 **Mehmet Murat ildan**

Sulu's nimble fingers guided the great ship smoothly through Earth's outer solar system planets.

"Steady as she goes, Mr. Sulu. Bring us down to sublight."

The stately ship came gliding past Saturn and Mars, and into the Earth's outer atmosphere, her primary and secondary discs and her nacelles silhouetted against the San Francisco space dock exterior stanchions that greeted all incoming ships.

"Dockyard says they're ready on main umbilical, Captain," reported Uhura.

"Take us through, Mr. Sulu."

Sulu guided _Enterprise_ slowly through the giant open maw of the Starfleet Space Central Dock.

"Maneuvering thrusters, Mr. Sulu."

With a flick of his fingers, Sulu brought the ship slowly, silently forward until she was exactly at dry dock center.

Jim gave the order. ""Engage the main umbilicals." They all watched as the bots attached the giant "robes" to the ship to hold her stationary.

Now the view screen showed the magnificent lattice-work of luminous metal that was an engineering marvel and the pride of Starfleet. The San Francisco orbital dockyard looked like nothing more than a giant spider web shimmering and glowing in the morning gold of the Earth's sun. There were many ships in dry dock, suspended from the umbilicals that moored them.

"All docking procedures have been completed, Sir. All our paper work has been filed and approved, " Uhura told him. "Space Central says welcome home, _Enterprise_."

"Thank them and return my compliments, Uhura, and have the crew stand down."

"Aye, Captain."

Jim sighed in relief. They were home and this morning he would get to see his mother. He toggled his chair comm. "Mr. Scott, report to the bridge."

"On my way, Captain."

Jim waited with ill concealed impatience until Scotty set foot on the bridge. "You have the con, Mr. Scott. I'll check in with you as often as I can. Oh, leave her registry and running lights on, Scotty."

"Aye, Sir," said the genial Scotty. "Of course. Our girl will shine in all her glory. I'll take care of everything."

"I know you will, Scotty. I never worry when the ship is in your hands." These two who loved _Enterprise_ best, smiled at each other in understanding.

"Uhura, Spock, Bones, and I will collect our belongings and meet you in the transporter room in twenty minutes. Gavin will be waiting in the main lounge for us."

"I'm ready, Captain. I'll see you in the transporter room."

"With me, Mr. Spock. Let's go pick up our duffles."

"Yes, Captain."

Lt. De Salle was manning the transporter when the four officer arrived and got on the padd. "Beam us straight to the main lounge, Lieutenant," Jim ordered. "And don't you break my ship while we're gone, Mr. De Salle," Jim smiled at him.

De Salle grinned. "Aye, Captain," and sent them on their way.

Gavin was pacing impatiently in the anteroom, when he saw Jim, followed by his three officers striding rapidly toward him. "Gavin, good to see you." Jim shook his hand and gave him a one armed hug. "Violet and Davy?"

"They're great. Violet is planning to visit Winona as soon as she wakes up. Davy will go too."

"Good, it'll be great to see them."

"Jim, I've got transport waiting," Gavin said, shaking hands with the other two and nodding at Spock, then ushering them hurriedly along. "We'll stop at the hospital first so you can see Winona and then we'll go straight to Riverside. Tom, is waiting for you, Leonard. He thinks Winona is starting to wake up."

"Excellent," Leonard said. "That's a very good sign. It's been over 24 hours that's she's been unconscious, so that's about right for a grade 3 concussion." He turned to Jim. "I don't want you to be alarmed, Jim, but once Winona wakes up she may exhibit post concussion syndrome. She may experience headaches, dizziness, loss of memory and confusion. The amnesia usually manifests itself in forgetting the event that caused the concussion, so she may not remember the break-in or the men, or hitting her head. It's important to let her memory come back on its own, not to force her to remember. Her symptoms may last just a short while, or they may last a bit longer. When Peter visits, I want you to warn him that his Noni may not remember what happened to her. If she asks us, we can tell her whatever she wants to know, but gently and carefully. Jim?" He looked into the silent, preoccupied face of his Captain. His hazel eyes had a far away look in them. "Jim?"

"Captain, you seem quite distracted," Spock told him, eyebrow raised in concern.

"What?"

"Jim, did you even hear what I said?" Bones looked at him worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Bones. I'm just wondering if Ma will remember where she put that chip, and if she doesn't, where the hell we're going to start looking. The house and barn are over 200 years old, it's full of nooks and crannies and great hiding places."

"Stop worrying, Jim. With all of us searching, we'll find it."

"Indeed, Jim. Please do not be concerned. I am certain our search will be fruitful," Spock told him, face serene.

Gavin led them to the lift that emptied straight out to the tarmac where his shuttle was parked. It was a six man shuttle so there was room for all of them with all their duffles which they put in the back.

"We'll go straight to SFM to drop you and Leonard off. Winona's in a special room and Security is posted at her door, so be prepared to show ID, although your face is so well known I doubt you'll need it," Gavin grinned at him.

To the amusement of everyone, Jim flushed pink. Leonard poked him affectionately.

"All your faces are very well known," Gavin added mischievously, noticing Leonard's poke.

Jim laughed out loud and Leonard's blue eyes widened in shock. Now a little abashed, Leonard grinned."Guess you're not the only pretty face around here, Jimmy."

Gavin piloted the shuttle directly to the hospital. He turned to his passengers. "I've arranged for temporary Fleet housing for Leonard, Spock and Nyota. It's a three bedroom house, so the three of you don't have to go back to the ship every day. I knew you wanted to be with Peter at your apartment, Jim, and with T'Lane there you wouldn't have room for everyone so I thought this house would work best. I'll take Spock and Nyota to the house to drop off your things and we'll come back and pick you up at this entrance. Is an hour enough time?"

Jim looked at Bones who nodded. "Thanks, Gavin, that should work fine. Thanks for arranging everything. When we get to the farmhouse I'll pick up clothes for Peter...and Sorrel's toys."

"Please do not forget his chess set, Jim. Peter enjoys using his own and it will be good for him to have familiar things with him."

Jim smiled at him. "You're quite right, Spock. Thanks for reminding me." Jim always appreciated that Spock never made any effort to hide his affection for the little boy.

"Captain, when we get to the farm, I'll pack a few personal things for Winona. I'm sure no one has done that yet."

"Thanks, Uhura. I hadn't thought of that. Ma will appreciate having her own personal items and clean clothes to go home in."

Gavin smiled at Nyota. "I was going to ask Violet to do it when she comes to visit Winona, but this will work out much better."

Jim and Leonard hopped out of the shuttle and walked quickly to the side entrance. Following Gavin's directions, they went directly through the corridors to Winona's room.

As expected, two security guards were at the door. "Commander Bradford commed us to expect you and Dr. McCoy, Captain. Dr. Jeffries said for you both to go right in."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

They entered into the dimly lit room and Tom Jeffries came forward to greet them. "Jim, Leonard, good to see you." Tom spoke in a normal tone of voice. "She's starting to wake up, Jim. Her brain waves indicate it won't be long now, probably by this afternoon. You can go ahead and talk to her, it might help speed things up a little." He led Jim toward the biobed.

Jim looked down at his mother. Although hooked up to several monitors, she looked serene and peaceful, exactly as if she was taking a nap at home. She had kept her hair short after having it cut during their Vulcan visit, and her short hair curled softly around her face and forehead. The cut on her forehead that Gavin had told Jim about was completely healed. Jim picked up her small hand that was laying over the sheet and grasped it gently.

"Ma, it's Jim. I was ordered to come back to Earth on a mission, and I got here to find that you fell and hurt your head. Please wake up, so we can have some time to visit. Bones is with me and you know how he likes your home cooking, and he'd love to eat whatever you want to fix for us. Peter is coming to visit you, mama," Jim said, using his childhood name for his mother, "and it'd be great if you were awake."

He glanced over at Bones who met his glance and nodded to him. Tom and Leonard were in the corner looking at Tom's medical notes on his treatment of Winona's head injury. Jim could hear the soft murmur of their voices.

Winona's hand twitched and her eyelids fluttered slightly. One of the monitors beeped and both doctors came over to the bed to check it.

"She's definitely wakin' up, Jim. You should go on to the farm and take care of your business. I'm almost certain that by late afternoon today Winona will be awake and sittin' up. She'll be thrilled that you're here. I hope she'll be awake by the time you bring Peter by. That will go a long way to makin' him feel better about what happened. I'll comm you later on with an update...keep you informed while you're at the farm,"

"Thanks, Bones. What did you and Tom decide about her treatment?"

"Tom's treatment and protocol have been absolutely correct. She couldn't have been in better hands."

Jim smiled at Tom. "I knew it, it's just extra reassuring to hear it from Bones too, Tom."

"I did exactly what I would have done for my own mother," Tom assured Jim.

"You go on with Gavin to the farm, Jim. Stop your frettin'. She's gonna' be just fine. Tom and I'll be here with Winona when she wakes up. She's sure gonna' be surprised when she wakes up to find me here."

Jim breathed deeply, his anxiety dissipating. "Alright, Bones. The sooner we can get the job done at the farm the better. Wish us luck. You and Tom take good care of Ma, and Peter and I will be here late this afternoon."

Jim walked out to the tarmac to find Gavin's shuttle waiting. Since the shuttle had warp 1 capability, the trip to Riverside would not take long. Before he'd left the ship, Jim had commed Marie Salvatore with the approximate time that he'd pick up Peter. Marie told him they would all be at the restaurant prepping for the dinner crowd. She and Mama would put the children to work setting tables, filling salt and pepper shakers, cleaning the menu padds, and filling water pitchers. Peter's duffle and Sorrel safe in his cat crate would be there too. Keeping her three and Peter busy would make the time go faster, she told Jim. It was summer vacation after all, so they all had chores to do every day.

The shuttle ride was mostly silent, each of them preoccupied with their own thoughts. Soon Gavin shut down the warp engine and switched to impulse power. He brought the shuttle below the clouds and flew low over Riverside. Looking down, Jim could see the police station, the high school, the historical old stone courthouse, Father Joe's rectory and the beautiful old Catholic church, and Mama Salvatore's restaurant. _Enterprise_ and San Francisco was where Jim made his home now, but Riverside would always hold a very special place in his heart. Jim flipped open his comm to notify Jonathon they were on their way to the farm.

"I'm on my way, I'll meet you there in a few minutes, Jim," Jonathon responded.

Gavin turned the shuttle and headed East to the Kirk farm. All the area where the farm was located, was still country, very sparsely populated, with only farms and farmland spotted here and there. Jim could look down and see the farms of their long time nearest neighbors. Most of these farms had been in the same family for generations. This rural part of Iowa hadn't changed much in the last hundred and fifty years and Riverside citizens liked it that way.

The Kirk farm was in sight when Jim pointed. "Gavin that looks like a shuttle in Ma's back pasture!"

Gavin pulled on the throttle to speed up, but the shuttle quickly took off, banked and immediately went into warp and disappeared.

"Damn, they're gone." Jim said in frustration. "They came back to look for the chip. They must have seen us coming."

"I believe our shuttle engine noise alerted them, Jim. These older shuttles are far noisier than our _Enterprise_ shuttles," Spock said from the back seat.

"Captain, I caught a glimpse of it as it took off. I think it was a rental," Uhura said.

"I'm afraid you're right about the noise, Mr. Spock. Our SIS budget doesn't compare to the budgets for Constitution Starships, so all our shuttles are older...and noisier." Gavin banked and came in for a landing. All four officers pulled out their phasers and cautiously got out of the shuttle.

"Let's spread out," Jim ordered. Spock, Uhura, take the front, Gavin and I will check both sides of the house and the back of the barn. We'll meet at the back door. Uhura, be sure and let Jonathon know about it possibly being a rental. Good eyes, by the way," he smiled at her.

They searched the areas carefully and gathered at the back door. "All clear," Gavin said. "Looks like we interrupted them before they started searching. Everything looks undisturbed."

"Ma has a security force field, but she only turns it on when she and Peter go out of town. Mr. Thompson, the farmer who leases our acreage, comes to feed Ginger, Dapple and the chickens when she's gone." Jim looked anxiously at the barn. "I hope the animals have been fed today."

"Jonathon said he'd let the farmer know right away, Jim," Gavin reassured him.

"I'll check on them in a little while," Jim said. The Kirks always took great care of their animals. Dapple and Ginger we're old now, and they were pampered as much as possible.

They glanced up to see one of the Sherrif's blue and white shuttle overhead. "That's Jonathon's shuttle, " Jim said squinting up at the brilliant blue sky.

They waited for Jonathon to land and make his way to the house. After handshakes, greetings, and Jim's reassurances about Winona's well being, Uhura gave him the shuttle description and her suspicion that it was a rental.

"I'll have Serena check on the rental companies around the area and in Des Moines, Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids. It's a needle in a haystack, but at this point anything is worth a try."

"Let's get started with our search. "Uhura, since you've stayed in Ma's room, why don't you start there, then search Peter's room and the sewing room. Spock you take the kitchen, the living room, dining room, and my bedroom. I'll take both bathrooms, and," he sighed, thinking of the large attic filled with generations of Kirk stuff, "the attic. Gavin and Jonathon, you guys take the Ma's office. I know it's torn up, but there's a lot of hiding places in there. We'll save the barn for last. It's got a hundred places and things where small things can be hidden."

They went inside the house through the back kitchen door. As usual, the kitchen was neat and tidy. Winona didn't believe in leaving daily household chores undone, and Jim, Sam, and now Peter always had chores that had to be done before playtime.

Jim heard Uhura sigh behind him. "The house seems lonely, doesn't it, Captain."

Jim nodded, swallowing hard. Without his mother's smiling face and hospitable warmth, and the lack of Peter's childish chatter in the background, the farm house did feel lonely and sad. Jim sighed and threw off his melancholy thoughts. Now was not the time, they had a job to do.

"Those men must have walked straight in through the kitchen door," mused Jonathon. "Winona never locks it. I'm going to have to talk to her about that," he added quietly. All the Kirk friends and neighbors knew to walk right into the kitchen from the back door and call out for Winona or Peter.

"Me too," Jim said grimly, although he doubted it would do any good. The Kirk kitchen door was never locked until after the evening feeding of the animals and Winona's bedtime. It was still the old fashioned screen door it had always been since Jim's great grand parents time, but now the synthetic screening did a much better job of protecting the house from bugs and mosquitoes. It was only at night that the inside heavy wooden door was closed and bolted. During the bitter winter months, Winona had a storm door installed, but it still remained unlocked, and the insulated clear double aluminum kept the cold out, but you could still see the outside yard and the barn. For the most part, Riverside was an extremely safe community, and Jonathon and his officers did a great job of keeping it that way.

"Alright everyone, let's get started. Don't be hesitant or shy about searching. Privacy is not an option today, except for what you obviously feel are private correspondence padds."

The five of the dispersed to their respective search areas and quiet descended in the house. Jim finished with the two bathrooms and pulled the attic ladder down to search the attic. He doubted the chip was up there. It was too much trouble to go up to the attic to hide his mother's work files every afternoon, then go up again in the morning to retrieve them when she began her workday. However, no stone must be left unturned in their search for the chip. With a sigh, Jim sat on the floor to begin his search.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 4**

 **"It's so overt, it's covert."**

 **Sherlock Holmes**

Jim sat on the floor in the attic methodically going through the boxes of stuff that had accumulated in the Kirk attic down through the years. In the back of his mind was an itch... and Jim had learned through his years as a Starfleet Officer not to disregard that itch. "This is all wrong," he muttered to himself. "Ma wouldn't be climbing up here to store her files every day." He closed the box he was rummaging in, stood and brushed off his black pants.

He stretched his cramped muscles, climbed down the attic ladder and closed it. "Gavin, Jonathon, Spock, Nyota," he called. "Let's go in the kitchen and take a break while we brainstorm for a few minutes." He opened the refrigeration unit and peered in. As usual there were tall pitchers of juice, tea, and water in there. He pulled out the three pitchers and retrieved glasses from the cupboard. "Help yourselves," he told them, as they came trooping in.

"What's going on, Jim? Did you find something?" Gavin poured some juice in a glass and gulped it down thirstily.

"Not a thing and I can't help thinking we're going about this all wrong."

"What do you mean?" Uhura took a sip of her iced tea.

"Think about it...every day that Ma works on an assignment, she finishes her work for the day and stores her data chip. That's every single day that she works. I was sitting on the floor in the attic thinking about this and I realized that it had to be someplace easily accessible to her. She wouldn't go up and down the attic stairs every day and she also wouldn't hide it where getting to it every morning would be difficult. So I thought about her daily routine. What does she do every morning?" He looked expectantly at them.

"She makes breakfast for Peter and herself," Jonathon volunteered quickly.

"Peter goes out to feed the animals and the chickens every morning immediately after breakfast, so your mother would be able to retrieve the data chip at that time unnoticed, or if it is a school day she would most probably wait until the school shuttle picked up Peter," Spock added, then looked at all of them waiting for them to think it through

"The kitchen!" The other three said excitedly and in unison.

"Exactly," Jim grinned triumphantly. "I think the data chip is somewhere here in the kitchen."

"But where?" Uhura asked. "Where would Winona put the chip?"

"Indeed, Jim. There are many places in this kitchen to hide an extremely small data chip," Spock said.

Five pairs of eyes exchanged glances, and then looked around the large homey kitchen filled with several generations of "stuff." Winona was a very orderly person, so everything had a place and her kitchen was neatly arranged, but there were, as Spock said, many places where a tiny chip could be hidden.

The kitchen had both lower and above the counter real wooden cabinets original to the house. They were painted a soft creamy yellow and filled with cookware, appliances, glasses and dishes. There were pull out wooden drawers full of table settings, kitchen knives, baking sheets, measuring cups and spoons, as well as all the kitchen and table linens. There was a row of filled canisters, on the counter top, a spice rack on the wall, and, in the corner, there was a narrow door which led to a separate food pantry filled with canned goods, snack food, soft drinks, sacks of flour, sugar and more. On the far wall was the stove, the refrigeration unit, and under the sink, a recycling unit and a small replicator which was seldom used. Situated above the refrigeration unit was a small shelf which held Winona's treasured real paper cookbooks. Winona loved to cook and bake and the evidence was in the cookbooks she'd collected through the years

"Take a seat everyone while I think this through," Jim told them. Everyone obediently grabbed a chair and then stared silently at Jim while he thought. Finally, Jim smiled and stood. He went to the cookbook shelf, took it off the refrigeration unit and carried it to the table. There were 9 hardback cookbooks on the small shelf, all quite old, but in very good condition and obviously well taken care of. Most had been expensive gifts given to Winona by close friends and family, and she treasured each one of them. Every book had its own transparent Mylar cover to protect it from dust and stains. Jim handled each of them very gently as he removed them one by one and stacked them in the table. He opened each book carefully, examining it closely. When he came to the fourth book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," he opened the back cover and found a very old, yellowed library card pocket still adhering tightly to the inside back cover. Jim carefully inserted gentle fingers into the pocket and felt something. "Bingo," he said softly and pulled out the tiny data chip.

"Well I'll be damned," Jonathon said.

Gavin grinned. "I might have known Winona would hide it in something that had to do with cooking, and in a place no one else would think of looking." He looked admiringly at Jim. "The first thing we're going to do is make a copy of the research for Mr. Spock and then this chip needs to be kept in a secure place."

"What about making the copy on the ship on your personal computer, Jim, and then storing the original in your Captain's vault? You can't get more secure than that," Uhura said.

"Good idea, Nyota. I'll have Scotty beam me up right now. It won't take me long. Gavin, do you want to go with me?" Jim asked him.

"Yeah, I'll go with you," Gavin said. "Chain of evidence or whatever you want to call it. I think I should keep the chip under scrutiny at all times. I also need to let my CO know we found it and get further orders. I think I'll comm him from the ship though, it's a more secure transmission."

"That's true. Okay, let's go." Jim flipped open his communicator. "The rest of you, we'll be back in a few minutes, so make yourselves at home. Keep an eye on the back pasture just in case. All of you have your phasers?"

"Don't worry, Jim. We're well armed, and I can get my officers here fast if need be," Jonathon assured him.

"I'll pack Winona's things while we wait, if that's all right."

"Of course, Nyota. There's a small suitcase in her closet that should do for now. When Gavin and I get back, we'll go to Mama Salvatore's to pick up Peter. We might as well enjoy a good late lunch while we're there. Peter will be happy to see everyone and it'll distract him until our hospital visit. Jonathon, will you comm Father Joe and update him on Ma and Peter? I don't want him to worry."

Jonathon nodded. "I'll also comm Mr. Thompson to update him."

"And I will check on the animals while you are gone and make sure they have feed and water," Spock said.

"Thanks everyone. Jonathon, tell Mr. Thompson I'll put up the security shield when we leave. One less thing for him to take care of. Scotty," he said into his communicator, "tell De Salle two to beam up."

"Aye, Captain."

The two men dissolved in the silvery whine of the transporter.

The rest of the team scattered to their designated tasks. In Winona's room, Uhura collected a pretty night gown a warm robe, slippers, two pair of slacks with pretty blouses, shoes, and Winona's makeup and toiletries. She added a comb and brush, and her toothbrush. Everything fit nicely in the small suitcase and she carried it to the kitchen.

Spock had returned from the barn. "All is well with the horse and donkey. I have fed them and the chickens. I will collect Peter's chess set and some books for him to have on hand to read. I assume he has his personal padd with him."

Uhura nodded. "I'm sure he does. Mr. Spock. There should be a duffle or backpack in his closet to put his things in."

Jonathon and Uhura sat in the kitchen waiting and Spock soon joined them.

"Father Joe was very relieved to hear Winona is improving and Mr. Thompson will be here in the morning to feed the animals. I also ordered my deputy to have the farmhouse patrolled for the rest of today, tonight and tomorrow, just in case that shuttle comes back. The security shield and the patrols should be a good deterrent."

"Jim will be relieved to hear that, Jonathon," Uhura told him.

"Indeed he will, Chief Romaine," Spock agreed. "The Captain seems quite concerned about another possible break-in."

The transporter bell effect announced the return of Jim and Gavin. Jim held out a small SF diplomatic pouch to Spock. These pouches were designed to carry classified or secret documents, and were therefore practically indestructible as well passcode secured. "Your data chip copy is in here, Spock. It's keyed to your SF serial number, but you can change the passcode if you want to. The original chip is in my vault."

"My CO and Admiral Corrigan agree that one data chip out in the open is enough," Gavin told them. "Also Mr. Spock, your review of the data will be done only by yourself in a secured lab. You alone are allowed to review the DNA results and, Dr. McCoy is allowed, should you need confirmation on anything you find, as per Admirals Nogura's and Corrigan's orders."

"Understood, Commander." Spock secured the pouch over his shoulder and under his arm. "I believe I will change the passcode, Captain, my serial number would be too easy to guess. If you will excuse me, I will do it at this time." He moved away from the group to the living room to do so and quickly returned. "I have sent the new passcode to your secure comm on the ship, Captain. What about you, Commander Bradford? Do you wish to have it as well?"

"I don't have any need of it, Mr. Spock, and I feel that the fewer people who have it the better."

"Shall we go, then? I'm anxious to see Peter," Jim said. "I commed Marie from the ship so they're expecting us for a late lunch."

"The animals are fine, Jim. I fed them and gave them fresh water."

"Thanks, Spock," as Jim turned to address Spock, the sudden whine of a shuttle engine startled them all. The shuttle entered the atmosphere straight out of warp and barreled toward the farmhouse at top impulse speed. From the small side windows of the shuttle, Jim saw the silver flash of hand phasers when the sunlight hit them. The occupants of the shuttle began firing at the group as they all stood close to the back kitchen door.

"Back, back! Get back in the house!" Jim shouted. He and the others pulled out their phasers and began firing back at the shuttle. Jim pushed and pulled everyone he could reach back into the kitchen. Uhura had exited the house first and, encumbered by Winona's suitcase, had been unable to get to her phaser to fire back. As she turned to retreat, a phaser shot hit her and she crumbled in a heap.

"Uhura!" Jim caught her before she hit the ground. He half carried, half dragged her into the kitchen as Spock, Jonathon and Gavin gave him cover returning rapid fire. The shuttle flew directly toward the house, the two men still firing their hand phasers through the open kitchen door. The shuttle lifted, then did a turn maneuver just as they all got safely inside the kitchen. Jonathon closed the heavy wooden door and flipped open his comm. "Romaine to headquarters!"

"Headquarters here."

"Send all available patrol shuttles to the Kirk farmhouse, we're under attack!"

"Right away, Chief!"

Spock and Gavin were at the kitchen window looking out trying to see where the shuttle was flying.

Jim carried Uhura to the sofa, set her down gently, and flipped open his comm. "Kirk to McCoy. Bones come in! Bones!"

"McCoy here. What's up Jim?"

"Bones, Uhura just took a phaser shot to her arm," he told him, looking down at her charred sleeve. Uhura was trying valiantly to control herself, but a phaser burn was one of the most painful of injuries. A moan she couldn't contain escaped through her gritted teeth.

Leonard asked no questions. "Jim, does Winona have a good first aid kit?"

"Yeah, Bones, we've always kept a top of the line one."

"Good, you should have everything you need then. Okay, first give her something for pain right away. I don't want her to go into shock. Then cut away the sleeve very carefully. It's best to touch the burned area as little as possible."

"Okay I'll be right back with the kit. Gavin," he yelled as he ran to the bathroom for the first aid kit, "what's going on?"

"Nothing, Jim," Gavin yelled back. "We can hear the shuttle, but can't see it."

Jim grabbed the kit and hurried back to Uhura. He looked at her anxiously. She looked ashen and there was sweat on her forehead. "I've got you, Nyota. I'm going to give you pain medication first." He found the red topped hypo that was universal for pain and swiftly pressed it to her neck. Her face relaxed almost immediately as the analgesic did its job. Jim picked up his comm. "Bones, I've given her the pain hypo."

"Alright, Jimmy. Now you have to cut away the sleeve. Is the wound pretty high up?"

"Yeah, Bones, I can see it's at the top of her arm, close to her shoulder."

"Okay," said Bones' calm voice. "Cut away the whole sleeve. Be very careful. Some of the material may have melted unto the wound. If so, you'll have to clean it very thoroughly and gently. Go on now, Jim, do that part, I'm right here to help you through it," Bones added soothingly.

Using his mother's first aid scissors, Jim cut away the long red sleeve of Uhura's uniform top. He winced in sympathy when he saw the angry bloodied wound at the top of her arm.

"Is it very bad, Jim?" Uhura whispered.

Jim smiled reassuringly. "Not too bad, it could've been a lot worse," he told her.

"The sleeve is off, Bones," he said into the open comm.

"Do you see any melted red fabric in it?"

"No, it looks pretty clean to me."

"Good, that's good. Alright, there should be a spray hypo there with a green top. You're going to spray it directly on the wound. That should keep it clean and sterile until you can bring her here, or have Geoffrey treat her on the ship. How does she look, Jim?"

"I'm all right, Jim," Nyota told him.

"Her color looks much better, Bones. But I'd like for Geoffrey to see her right away. We're going to pick up Peter, so I'd prefer if he didn't see that Nyota is injured."

"I agree. Let me comm Geoff and have him meet Nyota in the transporter room. He'll take care of her right away."

"You're going back to the ship, Nyota. You can beam back as soon as your wound is regenerated. But first comm Spock or me to check where we are. Okay?"

She nodded, resigned to the inevitable. "Alright, Jim. Just be sure you take Winona's suitcase."

"I will, don't worry about that." He signed off with Bones and commed Scotty briefly explaining what had happened. He watched as Nyota disappeared and breathed a small sigh of relief. Thank goodness the phaser wound had been relatively minor. For the first time since Uhura had been hit, he let his anger surface. How dare these people attack them at his mother's home! What the hell were they trying to do, blatantly and overtly shooting at them like they did? Jim stalked back to the kitchen to see that Spock and Gavin were still standing at the open window and Jonathon was guarding the back door. Gavin turned when he heard Jim's footsteps.

"It's obvious whoever these people are, they've upped their game plan to get that research. They're willing to take more risks now, and it doesn't seem to matter to them who's here in the house. They want that data chip no matter what."

"Is Lieutenant Uhura all right, Captain?" Spock asked, never shifting his eyes from the window.

"She'll be fine, Spock. Thankfully the phaser shot missed anything vital. It hit her in the upper arm. I sent her back to the ship for further treatment. Dr. M'Benga will take care of her and she'll be back with us soon. What's going on with the shuttle?"

"The shuttle keeps circling the house, but there's been no more phaser fire. I imagine if we open the door there will be," Gavin reported. "I don't know what they think they can accomplish by doing this, but they're getting much more aggressive about acquiring the data chip. I bet they've found a possible buyer already."

Jonathon craned his neck looking out the window. "My Officers should be here momentarily. Let's hope they'll be able to apprehend them."

Sure enough they could hear the combined engine noises of several police shuttles approaching and could hear the burst of phaser fire from the police shuttles. Suddenly there was silence.

Jonathon's comm beeped. "Chief, this is Lt. Powers. We opened fire, but the shuttle went into warp and we couldn't follow."

"Copy that, Powers. We're coming out of the house. All shuttles keep your eyes on the horizon in case they pop back in from warp."

"Copy that, Chief. All shuttles stay sharp!" They heard Powers order the other deputies.

Jim grabbed Winona's suitcase, Spock picked up Peter's duffle then checked his grasp on the diplomatic pouch and the four men, phasers still drawn, walked out the back door.

"Powers, we're walking to the back pasture. Cover us. Captain Kirk has enabled the security force field for the house, but I want regular patrols at random times on the farm house."

"Yes, Chief."

Jim turned a worried face to Jonathon. "Mr. Thompson will be coming morning and evening to the barn. It's not going to be safe for him."

"I'll take care of it, Jim. I'll tell him that because of this second attempt to break in to the house, one of my police shuttles will pick him up and stay with him while he feeds the animals. The shuttle will wait for him and then take him home. We won't let him come here alone."

Jim huffed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Jonathon. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to him, Ma wouldn't either. I hate that her home is under siege, it's always been such a safe, warm place for all of us."

"It will be again, Captain. We will, as we always do, get to the bottom of this and your family home will once more be as it was."

"I hope so, Spock. Jonathon, keep me posted on your investigation of that shuttle. Not too many rentals have warp capability. They must be paying a lot of credits for renting it."

"I will. We'll keep in close touch. Give Winona my best, okay?"

They parted ways at their respective shuttles and Gavin piloted their shuttle straight to Mama Salvatore's restaurant.

Not waiting for the other two, Jim hopped out of their shuttle and hurried through the restaurant door. The first thing he saw was Marie's three children and Peter at the back of the restaurant filling the salt and pepper shakers. Jim feasted his eyes on the little boy and swallowed hard.

"Peter," he called out.

The little face turned at the sound of that beloved voice, and his face lit up like the sun.

"Uncle Jim!" He ran into Jim's waiting arms, and a small sob escaped the child.

"I'm here, Squirt, I'm right here," Jim picked him up and hugged the small warm body close. "Everything's going to be all right."


	5. Chapter 5

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 5**

 **"Its quietness was the quietness of strength.**

 **And the eyes were those of one who had walked**

 **through many a dark valley without flinching."**

 **Madeleine Brent**

After comforting and reassuring Peter that he would see his Noni in the afternoon, Jim gently urged him to finish with the salt and pepper shakers while he spoke with Marie and Mama Salvatore in the kitchen. The two women were very dear to him and to his mother. Marie, a schoolmate all through his elementary and high school years, and Mama and Papa dear friends of the Kirk family. He was greeted with happy cries, hugs and kisses from both Mama and Marie as gave them the good news that Winona was waking up.

Mama raised her eyes to heaven. "Grazie Dio," she whispered. "I have been praying for her, mio figlio, and my prayers have been answered."

"Thank you, Mama. I know you and Father Joe are powerful in the prayer department." Jim smiled his sunshine smile at her. "Don't forget to pray for me when I'm back on the ship," he told her.

"Don't worry, Jim, she has a long list of people she prays for, and she doesn't fall asleep until everyone gets their special prayer." She smiled fondly at her mother.

Jim leaned in to kiss the plump wrinkled cheek. "All of us, who are on your list thank you."

"Come, Jim, enough about me. Let us go eat our late lunch. Marie and I prepared enough for your friends and the children. Perhaps you can take Winona something for dinner if she is fully awake when you return to the hospital."

"Bones thinks she will be and she'd love it, Mama. Hospital food is not the best as you can imagine."

Mama shuddered in mock horror as she led Jim back to the dining room. She greeted Gavin and Spock whom she knew from previous visits and looked around. "Jim, where is the beautiful Nyota? You know how she loves my cooking."

"Everyone loves your cooking, Mama," Gavin grinned at her.

Jim's comm beeped before he could answer. "Kirk here."

"Captain, I'm ready to beam down. Dr. M'Benga has cleared me." Jim could hear Nyota's happiness through the comm.

"That's great, Uhura. Sending you our coordinates now. You're just in time to eat with us at Mama's."

"That's perfect timing, then. I love Mama's food!"

Mama smiled at hearing that. "Was Nyota ill, Jim?" She asked him anxiously.

"No, Mama, she was in a slight accident at the farmhouse and her shoulder was injured. I just sent her back to the ship so Dr. M'Benga could check her out."

The silvery whine of the transporter deposited Uhura in the middle of the restaurant. There was an immediate stampede by Peter, Marie and Mama to hug her and Nyota hugged them all back enthusiastically.

"Now I am happy that everyone is here to eat, I'm only sorry Violet and sweet Davy are not here." Mama said, leading the way to the private dining room.

"Believe me, Mama," Gavin laughed. "I'm going to hear about it."

And eat they did. Mama and Marie had prepared a feast; Insalata Carprese and Bruschetta with mushrooms, pasta with summer squash and tomatoes, also pasta Fagioli, and spinach risotto, patates al forno, and for dessert, Panna Cotta al Mango. Everything they had cooked we're dishes that Spock could eat too.

They ate until they could eat no more. Jim sighed contently and spared a moment of regret for Jonathon, Tom, and Bones who were not here to enjoy the splendid meal. He noticed the children had been given spaghetti for lunch, and that Peter had cleaned his plate.

"It was exactly what he needed, to have you here, Jim," Marie said softly, noticing Jim's glance. "He was very frightened and distraught until he heard from you. He kept asking me if his Noni was going to die, and where would he live if you had to stay on the ship. Who would take care of him? I tried to reassure him, that Winona would be fine, but he was very anxious. It's obvious that seeing you here has really helped him." They both looked at the four children chattering happily.

Jim blinked and swallowed the lump in his throat. "If Peter needed me, I would leave my ship in an instant. He's never going to be left alone again. One of us will always be with him."

Marie nodded. She expected no less from Jim. "He loves you very much, Jim."

"Not as much as I love him," Jim told her fiercely.

After lunch, coffee and dessert, Mama rose and placed a large insulated container in Jim's hands. "For Winona," she told him. "If she cannot eat it this evening, it is not a concern; it will be just as good tomorrow. This container will keep it fresh and hot until tomorrow."

"Mama, Marie, this has been wonderful, but we have to go. Peter," he called to the child, "get your things. Thank Mrs. Marie and Mama and say good bye to the children."

"I can't thank you enough, for this amazing lunch and for everything you did for Peter." He kissed them gently. "Tell Papa and Gino I'm sorry I missed seeing them this visit."

"Addió, mio figlio. Let us know how your mama is doing, yes?

"Of course. I'll update you and Father Joe this evening after our hospital visit."

"Stay out of trouble, Jim Kirk," Marie told him laughing.

With many hugs, goodbyes and more thank yous, the four officers and Peter left the restaurant.

Jim's comm beeped just as Gavin's shuttle took off. "It's Bones," he told them. "Yeah, Bones?"

"Jimbo, your mama is awake. She started to wake up about 30 minutes ago. She's pretty alert." He lowered his voice. "She's a little confused, wanted to know why she was in the hospital, what had happened and why I was here. I told her she'd fallen and injured her head, that you'd been recalled to Earth for a mission, and that you'd gone to pick up Peter from Mama's, that you'd be here soon. Tom is checking her vitals now, and then we're going to sit her up in bed. I'll give her some juice and see how it goes down."

Jim sighed in relief. He checked the shuttle coordinates for their ETA. "We should be there in 45 minutes, Bones."

"Good...that should be just about right. I'll let her know. See y'all in a bit."

Jim turned in his seat. "Peter, Dr. Bones said that Noni is awake and waiting for our visit. Great news, right?"

The lingering worry in Peter's hazel eyes, so much like Jim's, faded away, and he grinned hugely. "Noni's going to be surprised and real happy to see you, Uncle Jim."

"She'll be happy to see both of us."

"Indeed she will, Peter-kam." Spock patted his knee, and Peter leaned his body in to the warmth of Spock's long lean body. The huge bowl of spaghetti he'd eaten coupled with his relief from worry about his grandmother had made him very sleepy. He closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.

Nyota smiled down at him. "I'll wake him when we land, Jim. He's had a hard couple of days."

The flight to SFM was smooth and uneventful. Peter slept on until they landed. Uhura gently woke him and he blinked his eyes and looked around. "Is this where Noni is, Uncle Jim?"

"Yes, and we're going in to see her right now." Jim helped the sleepy Peter out of the shuttle keeping a firm grasp on his hand. With Gavin, Uhura and Spock following behind him, he led the way to Winona's room. The same two security officers were still on duty. Jim, with Peter, and Gavin, were admitted immediately, but Uhura and Spock had to wait for their security scan. Once cleared, they entered the room to find Jim sitting on one side of Winona's bed holding her hand, and Peter on the other side, lying on her shoulder. Gavin, Leonard, and Tom stood at the foot of the bed smiling, clearing enjoying her obvious happiness at being with her son and grandson.

Winona looked up as Spock and Uhura came in. She beamed at them. "Goodness, it's lovely to see all of you, but I can't believe that a simple fall and hitting my head was serious enough to bring the _Enterprise_ home."

Jim looked over to Gavin who nodded. His mother was certainly not slow on the uptake. "It was a little more than that, Ma, but I'll tell you about it later." He bent to lift the insulated food container from the floor. "Look Ma, knowing you was going to be subjected to hospital food, Mama sent you dinner and I can assure you it's much better than any hospital food."

"Oh, that's so nice of her. So you went to Riverside, Jim?" She asked, and then looked down at Peter. "Of course you did, you had to pick Peter up. Were you with Marie, darling?" She asked Peter, who nodded his head against her shoulder. She pulled her hand from Jim's and rubbed at her forehead fretfully. "I can't seem to remember what happened?" She looked at Jim, confusion in her hazel eyes.

Jim looked at Bones who nodded his assent. Answer her questions. "Yeah, Ma. Peter was with Marie, and Mama invited us all to lunch." He reached for her restless hand and held it in his warm grasp. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

Winona frowned, carding her hand through Peter's sandy hair. "I dropped Peter off at the Robert's house right after breakfast; he'd been invited to play with Mike. Caroline said she would bring him home sometime after lunch since she had to go into town to buy groceries anyway." She stopped talking and still frowning, her hand on Peter's hair stilled.

Jim asked softly. "What did you do after you dropped Peter off, Ma?"

"I chatted with Caroline over coffee for a while, and then I came home, parked the shuttle in the back field, and went directly to the barn to feed Ginger, Dapple and the chickens," she recalled. "I told Peter I'd do it for him when I got back so we could leave early for the Robert's, right sweetheart?" Peter nodded. "After that..." Her eyes widened. "I don't remember, Jim! I don't remember anything after that!"

Leonard came over to the bed. He spoke soothingly. "It's alright, Winona. You fell and hit your head and you suffered a concussion. Some memory loss is not uncommon with that type of injury. Be patient. It'll all come back to you in the next day or two. Don't force it, though, or it will give you a bad headache."

She nodded and laid her head back on the pillow closing her eyes tiredly. Jim looked at Bones in alarm. Leonard came forward, gently moving Peter aside. He checked the bio bed readings. "I think our patient just got tired with all this excitement. She's fallen asleep. Don't worry, Jim, it's perfectly normal with a concussion. She'll need more sleep and rest for another day or two, but she's comin' along just fine. I'm gonna' keep her here safe and sound for at least another 24 hours. When you get her home to the apartment she'll need to take it easy for a week or so."

Tom agreed. "I know it'll be difficult, Jim, you know how Winona is, she'll want to be up and doing things, but it's necessary for a complete recovery,"

"I'll make sure of it, Tom, even if I have to sit on her." Peter giggled at that and Jim ruffled his hair. "Peter will sit on her too if it takes the two of us to settle her down. We better get going though, we'll come back this evening. I want to get you home, Squirt, so you can get settled in at the apartment." He glanced a question to Spock.

"T'Lane will be waiting for you when you arrive, Captain. She has been assigned one of the small Embassy shuttles should she and Peter need transportation."

"Mr. Spock! Is T'Lane going to stay with us?" Peter asked him excitedly.

"Indeed she is, Peter. Your uncle has work to do while we are here, so T'Lane has agreed to be your companion while you are staying with your Uncle Jim. I have been informed that she has several things planned for you to do. She said she was most gratified to be chosen to stay with you."

Peter's eyes met his Uncle Jim's and they both grinned. Even at his young age, Peter was already very familiar with Vulcan understatements.

"Len, I'll leave Winona's personal things here with you and Tom. Will I see you and Mr. Spock back at the house this evening?" Uhura asked.

"Yeah, but I'll be here at least until this evening, Nyota. Tom and I will monitor her for a couple of more hours, but I doubt that either of us will have to spend the night. She's doing very well." He picked up the small suitcase and set it at the foot of the bio bed. "She'll be happy to see you brought her things. You get to the house and some rest too, young lady. You suffered that shoulder injury." Leonard said. Mindful of Peter's presence he did not mention the word wound.

"I will, Len."

"Shall we go? Gavin, are you ready?"

"I am. Mr. Spock the secure lab is ready for you." He pushed a few buttons on his comm. "I've sent you the security code and the lab room number."

"Thank you, Commander. I will begin immediately." Spock nodded his goodbyes and left hurriedly.

As they all walked to shuttle parking, Jim was deep in thought. "Gavin, does the Fleet house have a good computer system?"

"The best, Jim. I made sure in case Spock or Len needed it for their research."

"Good. Uhura, I want you to get in touch with Jonathon. Tell him that you're going to help him find that rental shuttle. Other than the shuttle, we don't have a single lead about those men...unless Ma remembers something later. Jonathon doesn't really have the manpower to do an extensive search of all the rental places in Iowa and, besides that, you're the very best at finding information." Jim frowned. "Do you think you'll be able to get into the rental sites? I doubt if they'd give us any information about their clients if you were to ask directly."

"I'll link up with our ship's computer if need be. Scotty or Chekov will help me if I have any problems."

"I just hope they didn't rent the shuttle out of state."

"I really doubt they'd do that. The rental must have been very expensive since it's a warp drive shuttle and they certainly don't come cheap. It would be even more expensive if you rented one out of state. The deposit alone is exorbitant. The rental companies don't want to chance one of their warp drive shuttles being stolen."

"She's right, Jim, and those guys don't have their billions yet."

"And they never will, if we can help it," Jim added grimly.

"Who's going to have billions, Uncle Jim?" Peter's innocent question raised a red flag in Jim.

He met Gavin's gray eyes. During their conversation, they had all forgotten the little pitcher with the big ears sitting quietly in the back seat. "No one you know, Squirt. It's just a job that Mr. Gavin, Miss Uhura, and I have to do while we're here in San Francisco."

"Oh," Peter said losing interest. If it had been a job Uncle Jim had to do on the ship that would have been different. Peter was enthralled with anything having to do with _Enterprise_ and all of Uncle Jim's missions. A job here on Earth was not nearly as interesting or exciting.

"Jim, Uhura, I've procured two small warp capable SF shuttles for you while you're planet side. By now, they should be parked at the house. Len, Spock and Uhura will have one available when they need it, and Jim, you'll need the other one to go back and forth from the apartment to the hospital or to headquarters. I've sent their respective access codes to everyone. I thought it best for all of you to keep your comings and goings very discreet, so the shuttles are unmarked."

"Good idea, Gavin. You've thought of everything."

"It's my job to keep all of you safe and sound while you're here. We're here," he said, bringing the shuttle down to the parking space in front of the house. "Nyota, we'll unload the duffles and get you settled in, then I'll drop Jim and Peter off at the apartment. After that, I'll have to head back to my office to report to my boss. I'll probably see you this evening at the hospital. Violet wants to visit Winona. I'm afraid we'll have to being Davy, it's too short notice for a sitter, and he's a handful these days, running around all over the place." He smiled fondly.

"I'd be mad at you if you didn't bring Davy. We'd both be mad right, Squirt?"

Peter grinned. Davy was a never ending source of entertainment when he visited the farm. Sorrel would run for his life and hide under Peter's bed until Davy left. The cat was not fond of having his coat stroked backwards by small, loving little hands.

From the side shuttle window, Jim glanced around the street where the house was located, taking note of the address because Fleet housing was relentless in its sameness. There were several hundred houses built in the area, which was located adjacent to the Academy and SFM, and which had gradually been added to over the years. The houses were all identical, painted white, with dark shingled roofs. The architectural style was plain, square, and utilitarian, with small green lawns and sidewalks in the front. Only the doors were different, every house door painted in a bright primary color; blue, green, yellow, red, purple, orange, deep brown and shiny black. The same colors were repeated on every block, adding some slight interest to the homes, as well as helping residents find their house in the sea of ticky tacky sameness. Starfleet Cadets all lived in the Academy dorms, but others, the enlisted noncommissioned personnel, lived in small Fleet apartments.

Most of the Fleet officers (some with families, some without) who were assigned to the San Francisco Fleet Headquarters, and who worked in Medical, Science, Tactical, Administration, and Security, lived in the residential housing area, unless they rented or owned private residences like Jim did. Fleet also kept a few houses vacant for visiting officers who were on temporary duty assignments.

This house had a bright cobalt blue door and Jim gave it a bemused look as he exited the shuttle with Peter close beside him. They each grabbed a duffle and put everything into the bedrooms. The three bedrooms were identical, furnished with dark faux wood beds, chests of drawers, and small night stands with lamps. The bedrooms were adjacent to each other with locked connecting doors, and faced the main hall. There were two full bathrooms situated directly across from the bedrooms. The living room had a large dun colored upholstered sofa, two arm chairs with lamp tables beside them, and a large desk with the computer/comm system on it. Uhura immediately went to the computer to look it over. She nodded satisfied. "This is a state of the art computer, Gavin. It will do very nicely."

"I also made arrangements for some basic groceries to be delivered, Nyota. Just fruit, coffee, eggs, bread, stuff like that. Just let the Ensign who brings them by know if you need anything else for the three of you. His name is Ensign Wu and he's assigned to you for the duration of your stay. His contact information is already in your comm."

"Thank you, Gavin." Then to Jim. "I'll get myself organized, Captain, comm Jonathon, and get started on the shuttle search. As soon as I find something I'll comm you right away."

They left her already sitting at the computer engrossed in her search for the warp shuttle. Gavin flew directly to Jim's apartment complex and landed in the back parking garage. Jim noticed that a small runabout shuttle with the pale, discrete Vulcan Embassy logo imprinted on its side was also parked there. T'Lane had arrived and was probably waiting at Jim's door. "I should have told Spock to send her my door code," Jim said ruefully, as he grabbed both his and Peter's duffles.

"What do you bet that he did," Gavin said. He and Jim exchanged knowing smiles. Vulcans were ruthlessly efficient, precise and thorough no matter what task big or small they under took.

"That's a sucker bet," Jim laughed at Gavin, quickening his pace out of the garage. Peter jogged alongside of him excitedly. He and T'Lane were good friends and, although it had been a while since they'd seen each other, they frequently exchanged letters when she was on Vulcan or at the embassy.

Jim opened the door to his apartment and breathed in deeply. This was his home when he was on Earth and he was happy to see it again. He looked around. Everything was just as he'd left it the last time he'd been here. His cleaning service always did a good job. His few good pieces of exotic wood furniture had been polished and glowed softly; his big comfortable sofa and his two large arm chairs, looked soft and inviting. The view from the large bay window which faced the San Francisco Bay and Bridge was as beautiful as always. From the left of a long hall were the two bedrooms were located, they heard a soft noise. "T'Lane," called Jim. "Where are you? We're here."

T'Lane came out of one of the bedroom with Sorrel in her arms. She stood there, a young, tall, slim, figure, dressed in the traditional soft cream Vulcan pants and tunic, her long hair, black as a raven's wing, shining in the soft light. Although she didn't smile, her dark eyes were warm with affection as she gazed at Peter. "Greetings, Captain, Commander Bradford, young Peter," she said politely. "I am most gratified and honored to be here as Peter's companion while he visits you."

Peter, not standing on any ceremony whatsoever, ran toward her and hugged her tightly around the waist. She let Sorrel jump down from her arms, and returned the embrace.

"Peter," Jim cautioned, ever mindful of Vulcan touch protocols. T'Lane met his gaze and shook her head slightly. It was fine for Peter to hug her, she telegraphed silently to Jim.

Jim nodded. T'Lane understood that this was what Peter needed, the reassuring contact with people he loved and who loved him in return. Jim felt a deep sense of relief at having T'Lane here. Peter's care was in the very best of hands, his mother was awake now and doing well, Spock was already at work examining the DNA plant data, Uhura was searching for the men who rented the shuttle, and Gavin and Jonathon were close at hand if needed. Tomorrow, he thought, they'd all get down to the business of finding out who was trying to steal the DNA secrets of the immortality plant.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 6**

" **To see a World in a Grain of Sand**

 **And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,**

 **Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand**

 **And Eternity in an hour."**

 **William Blake**

Jim woke from deep sleep to the sound of giggling. "Stop it Sorrel, that tickles." Peter's childish treble was pitched higher than usual with his delight.

"Peter, Sorrel seems to enjoy the taste of you ear," T'Lane's smooth voice was dry as dust with suppressed laughter. Jim smiled. Her voice reminded him of Spock's when he was trying to prevent his sense of humor from showing, a fact he would deny until his dying day.

He checked his chronometer; 0700. He had slept an hour beyond his usual 0600 wake up time. Obviously the same could not be said of Peter and T'Lane. He got up and headed for the shower. Afterward he'd have breakfast, then check in with his officers. Last night's visit with his mother had been good. As Bones had predicted, she was starting to remember parts of what had happened.

Winona had been in good spirits when Jim and Peter arrived for their visit. She was sitting in a char, happily eating the food Mama Salvatore had sent. Tom and Bones were sharing the bounty, she informed Jim wryly, because Mama had sent enough food to feed an army. Tom, his mouth full, grinned at Jim nodding in agreement.

"Just tryin' not to waste food," Bones had told Peter solemnly.

Jim and Peter sat on the bed as Winona ate and talked. She questioned Peter about his afternoon and about T'Lane. "I'm happy that T'Lane is going to keep you company, sweetheart. It's very kind of Amanda and Sarek to let her come to help."

After she finished eating the delicious food, she sat back in her chair and sighed. "I've remembered a little more, Jim." She glanced at Peter focused on eating a piece of Mama's Italian cake, and softly related how she had gone into the house after feeding the animals. She'd brewed a second cup of coffee, then had gone into her office to answer a comm call. She remembered the conversation with one of her Xenobiologist colleagues, an invitation to participate in a symposium which would be filmed and broadcast on the SF net to many different worlds.

She smiled at Peter. "I told my colleague that I'd check my calendar and get back to the committee head. Since it's summer vacation, I said that I wanted to take Peter with me to Boston; he's never been there."

At this, Peter's head came up from his cake, and his eyes widened in pleased surprise. "Really, Noni?"

Winona nodded. "Really. My colleague told me that child care would be available and that many great activities were being planned for the children who would attend with their parents." That was the last thing she remembered, she told Jim, a little downcast that she couldn't remember anything more.

Bones and Tom jumped in to assure her that her memory was coming back quickly and the rest would come soon. At that point, the nurse had come in with Winona's sleep medication, and after Jim and Peter kissed her goodnight, they left her. Jim had dropped Tom off at his Fleet quarters and then taken Bones to the house. Spock had refused a ride. He would take a late Fleet shuttle to the house, he informed Jim. He was deep in his research; it was quite a fascinating plant, he informed Jim and Bones, his attention already back with his instruments.

Now finished with his shower, Jim dressed quickly and went in the kitchen to see that breakfast and his coffee were already on the table. Sorrel looked up from his food bowl, meowed once in greeting and went back to eating. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise," he exclaimed, looking at the two expectant faces.

"T'Lane and I fixed it all, Uncle Jim. Toast with butter, and oatmeal with nuts and fruit and orange juice and milk and your coffee." Peter's eyes shone with pride.

"It looks delicious, but T'Lane, Peter, I don't expect you two to cook. I was going to give you an open credit chip so you can order food to be delivered here. I did ask my service to buy groceries for us, but I expected to be the one who cooked an occasional breakfast and evening meal around here."

T'Lane looked at him serenely. "I have been taking cooking lessons from T'Lar, Lady Amanda's cook, Captain. I asked Lady Amanda if I might do so and she agreed. T'Lar is a fine cook, and she agreed to teach me. It is a skill that interests me and I have already learned to prepare quite a few human and Vulcan dishes. I would like the opportunity to cook for Peter and for you to practice my skill, if you are agreeable. Peter has agreed to help me in my endeavor."

"That's very kind of you, T'Lane. Of course, if you want to, but please order food in if you're pressed for time or just don't want to cook." He handed over a credit chip. "This is for food, entrance fees, and whatever else you might need." He sat down and took a sip of his coffee. "Excellent coffee," he smiled at them. T'Lane and Peter looked pleased as they sat down to to eat.

"What are you two planning to do today?"

"I thought a visit to the San Francisco Exploratorium would be a good educational experience for Peter," T'Lane said. "It has scientific displays, dating back to its beginning in 1969 O.C., as well as current ones." Jim glanced at Peter who met his eyes and grinned.

"And fun too?" Jim grinned back as Peter nodded.

Jim quickly finished his breakfast and coffee. "Sorry to rush off, you two, but I need to get going. Peter, we'll visit Noni again this evening. She may be ready to leave the hospital by tomorrow. Uncle Bones told me he'd let me know when we see her this evening." He bent and kissed the sandy head. "Be good, both of you, and have fun! You have my comm code, T'Lane?"

"Yes, Captain. Mr. Spock gave it to me."

"Comm me if you have any questions, or if you need me."

"I do not anticipate the need, but I will if it is necessary."

Jim made his way to the parked shuttle. First stop, the Fleet house to check on Spock and Uhura's progress. As the shuttle climbed, he drew in a deep breath of delight. Jim loved to fly, and it was a beautiful morning in San Francisco with a slight chill in the air that the bright sun was quickly dissipating and no fog at all rolling in from the bay. It was a quick flight. Jim brought the shuttle down and parked it next to the other one in front of the house. He walked briskly to the cobalt blue door and pressed the door chime.

Bones answered the door, a cup of coffee in his hand. "Mornin' Jimmy." He raised his mug in question and Jim nodded, following him to the kitchen where the other two were finishing breakfast. "Sit down Jim, I'll grab you some coffee."

"Morning, Everyone. Hope you all got some rest," Jim said, grabbing the coffee mug Bones held out to him. "Report; Spock, you first."

"Yes, Sir." Spock pushed aside his bowl of cereal, and steepled his fingers. "My findings so far indicate that the DNA of the plant is highly complex, Captain. It is unlike any thing I have seen before in any plant species across the quadrant. The DNA molecules seem to be configured in a way that they replicate themselves continuously as the plant continues to grow. That insures that the DNA strands never truly age, or should I say, the DNA continually acts like it's in the process of new growth during the plants' growth cycle, thus perpetuating its continued and amazing longevity. Also, Captain, once it reaches a certain size it will not grow taller, again unlike most plant species, thus it does not grow too large to sustain itself indefinitely. Quite remarkable," Spock added. "The plant seems to propagate itself through its root system. New plants will shoot up through the ground at certain points from the root network of the existing plants that are traveling underground. If the planet, Lama II, had not been so marginal in its atmosphere, it's soil, and water, there would be millions more of these plants. As far as I have been able to ascertain, it's propagation is limited by the very nature of where it grows." **1**

"Spock, do you think it would it be possible for the plant to grow in a planet that enjoys optimal growing conditions, such as here on Earth?"

"Unknown, Sir. We do not have enough data to theorize. However, logic dictates that it would be more likely to grow in a harsher more dry environment, more like the environment on its native planet, Lamma II. More research will be needed to answer that question and others."

"Like on the planet Vulcan." Bones mused.

"Perhaps. As I said, Doctor, I must conduct more in depth research to answer some of our questions."

"Very well, carry on with your research. Spock, are you sure that the lab is completely secure? And that no one knows you're working on the the plant's DNA research?"

"The lab is completely secure, Captain, and the nature of my work is also completely secret. Commander Bradford has allowed me to engage the highest security protocols SIS has in place, both in the lab and on my research itself."

"Good, Spock, that's good. Lt. Uhura, your report?"

"I've eliminated 87 percent of the Iowa rental companies, Captain. I should be finished by mid morning. I began with the closest rental companies to Riverside and worked my way out from a grid I made and superimposed on the map of Iowa. I thought it would be more helpful than just a list of Iowa companies so I could actually see how far the men had to travel to get to the rental company and from there to the farmhouse. Also, the grid might give us a possible location of where the men might be living, working, or staying, or even perhaps the location of a corporate office. People do tend to rent vehicles where it's fast and convenient to get to them. If I don't find anything in Iowa, I'll enlarge my search peremeters."

"Good point, Uhura. Continue and keep me posted."

"Yes, Captain."

He turned to Bones. "Are you heading back to the hospital, Bones?"

"Yeah, Tom will meet me there. We'll give Winona a good goin' over and I'll let you know if we're gonna' dismiss her tomorrow morning."

"I'm meeting Gavin, Admiral Corrigan, and Admiral Nogura in Gavin's Office. SIS headquarters is located out of the way and we won't attract undue attention with all of us being there at the same time. I'll be able to update them about Uhura and Spock's reports."

Leonard walked him to the door.

"I'll see you later at the hospital, Bones. Peter will be out all day with T'Lane, but I'll bring him by early this evening to see Ma. You need a ride to the hospital this morning?"

"Naw. I'll catch a ride with Spock, and this evening too, if he can tear himself away from the lab," Leonard snorted. "If not Tom will bring me back to the house. Don't worry 'bout me."

As he left the house, a sense of uneasiness sat large and solid in the back of Jim's mind which he knew he needed to address, but right now he had a meeting to attend. Jim sat in the shuttle inputting the coordinates to the Starfleet Intelligence Service complex that Gavin had given him. He'd never had a reason to go to the complex before and had no idea of its location. The SIS location was never advertised. He looked down as he flew over the building to park the shuttle in the side parking lot. The complex was imposing in size, although its architecture was plain and nondescript, and there was no signage of any kind on or around the premises. It looked most like an old fashioned United States post office. There was an unspoken joke in Fleet that if you needed to go to SIS, you would already know how to find them. No address needed.

He walked up the marble steps to the front double doors where two redshirt sentries stood armed with phasers. "Your identification please, Captain?"

Jim presented his ID chip and both his chip and his face were carefully scrutinized, then compared to an entry that the sentry had in his padd. "All correct, Sir. After you enter these doors, walk straight down the hall to the lifts, take the lift to the third floor, step out, turn left, and the second door to your right is Commander Bradford's Office."

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Jim said, as the officer put in the code to open the door. Obviously security protocols were tight here.

Jim made his way to the lift. People working on the first floor gave him quizzical looks as he walked by, which puzzled him, but maybe they weren't used to seeing Starfleet Captains here. Exiting on the third floor, he knocked lightly at Gavin's door and a clerk opened it. "Captain Kirk, please go right in. Commander Bradford, Admiral Corrigan, and Admiral Nogura are waiting for you."

Jim nodded and walked in to Gavin's office. "Admiral Nogura, Admiral Corrigan." He saluted. Nogura stood, holding out his hand. "Good to see you, Captain Kirk. How is your mother?"

"Much improved, Sir, thank you. Dr McCoy thinks she'll be able to go home tomorrow. She's remembered some things about what happened prior to her being attacked, but nothing after that. Dr. McCoy thinks she will remember the rest in the next day or so. I hope so, Admiral, because we have very little to go on to help us find the men who broke in to get that data chip."

"Please sit, Captain. Give us your report," Nogura beckoned to a chair.

Jim told the two Admirals about yesterday's second attempted break in, about Spock's research findings so far, and about Uhura's efforts to find the rental shuttle.

When he finished, Admiral Corrigan also had an update for them. "I've given orders for the Lamma II Terra forming team to be pulled out. They'll be relocated to another similar but slightly more developed planet. Our story is that after due consideration, we decided that it would take too many credits, resources, and manpower to terra form Lamma II." He sighed. "It was the best story we could come up with. We just can't take a chance that someone else might take an interest and decide to study that plant. The planet has a lot of it growing all over. The team is under orders to never discuss our "dismal failure" of not doing sufficient preliminary research on Lamma II, and the consequences of our negligence, that we wasted a lot of time and credits on a worthless effort. We told the team that discussing our failure would be bad for the morale of the department." The Admiral rubbed at his jaw. "We hope that's enough to stop any speculation. We've also set up long range sensors for reconnaissance just in case anyone shows an undue interest in the planet. If so, we'll be there immediately to discourage them." The Admiral pointedly did not say how the discouragement would occur.

"I hope what you've done will be enough, Sir."

"It's the best we can do right now," Corrigan responded. "We have to do everything possible to stop unscrupulous individuals from getting their hands on that DNA, Captain. I only hope Mr. Spock finds that it would be impossible to use the plant DNA on any sentient being."

Gavin, who had been silent up to now, spoke. "Or use it to conduct experiments on any sentient beings." They were all silent, remembering the experiments that had led to the Eugenics War which produced the Augments and the horrible consequences that followed those experiments.

Jim shivered. He was a history buff and had studied everything he could find on that horrific period in history. Admiral Corrigan was right. They had to do everything possible to stop anyone from acquiring the knowledge of the immortality DNA, or it could all happen again. Not doing anything to avoid that catastrophe was unthinkable.

"Captain, Commander" Admiral Nogura stood, his face stern. "I'm giving you both discretionary powers to stop these people by any means possible. Spend what ever credits you need, use whatever resources Fleet has, just keep the nature of this operation secret. Everything having to do with this mission has to remain highly classified. Is that understood?" The normally genial Nogura was positively taciturn with his orders reflecting the seriousness of the mission.

"Understood, Admiral."

The two Admiral took their leave and Gavin went to his office cubby to make some coffee for them. It was still early and two small cups of coffee had definitely not been enough for Jim. As they sat for a brief moment of relaxation drinking their coffee, he entertained Gavin by telling him about T'Lane's and Peter's foray into cooking. Gavin laughed. "I'm sure everything will be delicious, Jim, when have you ever known a Vulcan do anything less than perfectly."

"True that." Jim's hazel eyes twinkled. "Oh, by the way, I wanted to tell you that I don't think the SIS staff are used to seeing Starfleet captains around here. I got a lot of curious looks when I walked in."

Gavin's lips twitched. "They were probably excited to see a genuine Starfleet hero when they recognized your face. You are pretty famous you know."

Jim flushed. "No, I'm not!"

"Yeah, you really are," Gavin told him, gleefully.

Jim's irate comeback was interrupted by the beep of his comm. He flipped it open. "It's Jonathon," he murmured to Gavin. "Kirk here."

"Jim. Just got a comm from my officer who took Mr. Thompson to feed your animals. He parked close to the barn to keep an eye on Mr. Thompson. Officer Murdock showed good sense, he kept the shuttle on and it's weapons hot, said he just had a feeling, and sure enough the rental shuttle popped out of warp right over your back pasture. He recognized it right away from its markings and because it popped straight out of warp. Murdock fired at it, right at their warp engine and got a hit, he says. They popped right back into warp without firing a shot, guess it spooked them, having someone waiting for them like that," he said in satisfaction. "That shuttle has some damage now. It should be much easier to track down. Anyway, I've assigned officers to the farmhouse 24/7 now. Don't worry about Mr. Thompson, he was still in the barn, and it all happened so fast, he didn't see or hear a thing."

"Good work, Jonathon. That'll give us a little more information to work with. Do you need me to go out there?"

"No, that's not necessary, Jim. If I need you, I'll comm and meanwhile I'll keep you posted. Romaine out."

The two men looked grimly at one another. "They're getting desperate to find that data chip," Gavin said.

"I don't like desperate," Jim told him, suddenly remembering the reason for his uneasiness. "Gavin, are you sure the Fleet lab is absolutely secure and Spock is safe working in there? That his copy of the chip is safe in there?"

"I'm sure, Jim. I gave him the highest possible security code to the lab. No unauthorized person can possibly get in there. Beside no one knows he's working on that DNA data except for McCoy, Uhura, the two Admirals, you and I. Winona doesn't remember the chip at all right now, and she's got two security officers at her door. No one will know where she is when she's dismissed from the hospital to your apartment."

"The reason I asked was because I'm concerned. Last night Spock took the late night Fleet shuttle back to the house instead of going with Bones and I. I didn't say anything to him at the time, you know how Vulcans, and Spock in particular are, they love computer research, but it seemed like an unnecessary risk to me. He's not carrying the data chip with him, I know that, but everything is in that giant Vulcan brain of his."

"I agree that was foolhardy. He's totally safe in the lab, but outside, being out in the open, could become a problem if any one gets wind of what he's working on."

"That's what I thought. Spock's not going to like it, but I'll make it an order if necessary that he must leave the lab at the end of the day with Bones and Tom or I'll send him back to the ship to conduct his research. There is safety in numbers after all."

"Yeah, I think that's the best way to go. He won't like it though."

"Too bad; thats the way it's going to be." Jim stood. "I better get going. I have to check in with Scotty on the ship, get back to Uhura about the warp shuttle damage, visit Ma, and talk to Spock."

"Violet, Davy and I will see you this evening at the hospital. I'll comm you with the time so you get to see them. Davy is excited to see his Ji."

Jim grinned. He and Davy were best buddies. "I think I'll invite T'Lane to go with Peter and I to visit Ma. She loves T'Lane and she'll be very happy to see her."

"And visa versa," Gavin told him. "T'Lane thinks the world of your mother. We all do," he mused. "Even Sarek and Nogura," he added, thinking of those two inscrutable forces of nature.

Jim smiled. His love and pride in his mother had been a constant since his early childhood. But now as an adult, he could really appreciate what, as a child, he'd taken for granted; his mother's strength of character and integrity, her charm, kindness and generosity, her prodigious intelligence and lively sense of humor, but most of all, that endless bounty of love and support she'd always given to him.

The beep of his communicator startled him from his musings. "It's Uhura," he told Gavin.

"Kirk here."

"Captain, I think I've found the rental shuttle."

* * *

 **1** made up botanical and scientific mumbo jumbo


	7. Chapter 7

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 7**

 **"For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought."**

 **Edmund Spenser**

 **The Faerie Queene**

Jim and Gavin hurriedly made their way to Jim's shuttle. "I can't believe Nyota found the rental already," Gavin told him, as they scrambled into their shuttle seats.

"I can," Jim said. "She's the best. My whole crew is the best. I'm really lucky to have such good people serving with me." He set his coordinates for the Fleet house, and lifted the shuttle up smoothly for the short ride.

Gavin grinned. "They feel the same way about serving under you, Jim."

"Gavin!" Jim protested.

"Jim!" Gavin grinned in return.

Jim just shook his head at him, then quickly brought the shuttle down in front of the house.

Gavin used his own code to enter the house. They found Uhura still sitting in front of the computer, a frown of frustration on her face. She looked up at them, her brow furrowed in a deep frown. "Captain, Commander."

"What's wrong, Uhura?" Jim asked. "You don't look happy. I thought you told me you found the shuttle."

"I did find it, Sir. I found the only company in Iowa that rents warp capable shuttles. It's the Cavander Shuttle Company in Des Moines and it's a very high end, specialized shuttle company. They cater exclusively to the rich and to corporate accounts, and they only rent luxury and warp capable shuttles; they're all very expensive, both for the company to purchase and to keep on hand in their inventory. Most shuttle rental companies don't want to go to the expense of adding those high end luxury shuttles to their inventories. I also found out, thanks to their daily rental log, that one of their shuttles came in damaged and is currently being repaired and repainted. What I haven't found is who rented it. The shuttle company's rental and financial records are handled by an outside data and records keeping company and I don't know which company it is yet. However, all these types of companies have very advanced security; everything is highly encrypted because they store all financial records for many companies and corporations. From what I've been able to determine, the way it works for this particular shuttle company is that at the end of each business day, the names of their renters and how much they paid in rental fees are uploaded to the management company servers. Right now I have to wait for the upload, so I can at least identify the name of the management company, but that won't happen until the end of this business day. The next problem will be to break the management company's encryption code. At least, we'll have the approximate dates of the rental to search for the renters' names. Am I allowed to do that, Captain?" Her lovely face looked troubled. Hacking into a corporate or company account was both illegal and unethical and required a court order.

"Yes, you are, Lieutenant. Don't worry about that. We just left Admiral Nogura. He gave Commander Bradford and I temporary discretionary power to do whatever we need to do to find those men. You do what you need to do to break that encryption."

"Nyota, if you need help, I can recall Lt. Sonnaii Connolly from his present assignment to help you. He's completely reliable and an expert at breaking encryption codes. Jim and I have used him before on another assignment, and as Captain Kirk can vouch, he's the best."

Jim nodded in agreement and quirked a questioning eyebrow at Uhura. _It's up to you,_ he telegraphed to her.

"I think under the circumstances that would be best, Captain, Commander. This encryption code may be above my skill set," Uhura admitted ruefully, she was good, but not by any means an expert. "I'd hate to waste time trying to break the encryption if Lt. Connolly can do it faster."

Jim smiled. "I have every confidence in you, Lieutenant, but you're right, time is of the essence here and we need all the help we can get."

"I completely agree, Sir." She smiled back at him, happy to get the help she needed. "By the way, Captain, how is Winona doing this morning?"

Jim frowned and checked his chronometer. "Come to think, I haven't heard from Bones yet. He or Tom was going to comm me after they examined Ma this morning. They've had plenty of time to do that. Maybe I should comm Bones myself," he mused, eying his comm.

As if by magic, Jim's comm beeped. As he looked at the I.D. his frown cleared, and a brief look of relief crossed his face. "It's Bones," he told them. "Kirk here. What's up, Bones?"

"Jim, it's Leonard."

"I know, Bones. What's going on? I was starting to get a little worried I hadn't heard from you. How is Ma?"

There was a pause on the other end of the comm. Jim looked at Gavin and Uhura in sudden alarm. "Bones?"

"Now Jim, don't get excited. Tom and I agree that Winona's had a little set back."

"Setback! What kind of setback? Is Ma alright? What the hell's happened?"

"Calm yourself down, Jimbo. What's happenin' is not uncommon with these types of injuries. She's having some post-concussion symptoms. This morning she's had a headache along with some dizziness and blurred vision so I'm afraid she won't be able to leave the hospital until these symptoms clear up. We're treating the symptoms and they should clear up in the next day or two. Try not to worry; as I said these symptoms do crop up after a concussion."

"Bones...," Jim swallowed hard. "Are you sure she's going to be all right?"

"I'm sure. Some of these symptoms can show up weeks or even months later. In a way, I'm glad they're happening now, so we can be proactive with Winona's treatment."

"Should I come see her?"

"There's no rush. I just gave her some meds for her symptoms. Come have lunch with her, she'll enjoy that."

"I was planning to. What about visitors, Bones? Gavin, Violet and Davy were going to meet Peter, T'Lane and I this evening when we visited Ma."

"No reason to change your plans. As long as the visits aren't too long. We don't want her to get overtired. Seeing everyone will cheer her up. She's disappointed and frustrated that Tom and I aren't letting her go home in the morning."

Jim sighed. "I'm disappointed too, and Peter will be also, and it's going to worry him, Bones. He already misses Ma a lot."

"I'll talk to him this evening about it, Jim. I'll explain about concussions to him without alarming him. He's old enough to understand."

"Yeah, that'd be good. He trusts you implicitly, and he'll be reassured by what you tell him. I'll see you at lunch time, then. Tell Ma, I'm coming. Want me to bring you guys something? I can stop off to pick up whatever you want."

"How about Chinese for everyone, including Winona. She'll enjoy that and she's on an unrestricted diet, so she can eat whatever she wants."

"Will do. Kirk out." Jim flipped his communicator closed and looked at the two sympathetic faces looking back at him.

"She'll be fine, Jim. Try not to worry," Gavin told him, consolingly.

"I'll try, but I don't like this set back," Jim told them. "She's always been so energetic and healthy." He determinedly shook off his worry for the task at hand. "I'll drop you off at your office, Gavin, and you can talk with Sonnai to give him his assignment. I still have to speak with Spock, check in with my ship, get lunch for everyone, then go visit Ma."

"After briefing him, I'll bring Sonnai here this afternoon and introduce him to Nyota so she can fill him in on everything we're trying to do. I know they'll have to wait for the upload from the rental company to the data management company, but he can go over his plan to try to break the encryption with Nyota."

"Give my love to Winona, Captain. At some point, I want to go visit her. Please explain to her why I can't go right now, she must be wondering," Uhura told him.

"Of course, Nyota. Ma will understand, she's Starfleet also. Are you ready to go, Gavin?"

"Ready. See you later, Nyota."

Gavin gave Jim the encrypted code to the lab door and told him there would also be a thumbprint requirement as a double check. Gavin had encoded Jim, Spock and Leonard's thumbprints for the lab door as an added security measure. All Starfleet personnel had fingerprints, dental records and DNA gathered as soon as they joined Fleet. Their personal information was kept in a highly classified, encrypted data file. Sadly, sometimes there was need for more than one way to identify a dead or mutilated Fleet body.

Jim dropped Gavin off in front of the SIS complex, then sat in the shuttle to check in with Scotty. "Scotty, how are things going with replenishing the ship's stores and filling up the water tanks, and everything else for that matter?"

"Captain. 'Tis good to hear your voice. Everything is progressing right on schedule, Sir. Dinnae' worry yourself. The water tanks are full to the brim, and we're still loading stores."

"Nurse Chapel is still hard at work stocking the extra meds Dr. McCoy requested. I have left the check of our dilithium crystals until last, since I want to supervise the yard dogs me self. I do not trust anyone but me self with the new crystals. I'm having Lieutenants Reilly and De Salle check engineering inventories, then they'll order anything we might need. 'Tis good practice for the lads."

Jim winced in sympathy. Doing Engineering inventory was one of the worst, most tedious, boring jobs on the ship...any tool, cable, nut, bolt, insulating pad, overall, etc. had to be counted and accounted for before additional inventory requests were honored by Earth Engineering stores.

"Sounds like you have everything well in hand, Scotty. I'll check in with you again in a couple of days."

Aye, Captain. Begging yourr pardon, Sirr, but how is your mother doing?" Scotty's Scottish brogue had thickened worrying about Jim's mother. Winona was always very kind to Scotty, sending him baked goods along with Jim's, and an occasional celebratory bottle of McAllan scotch.

"She had a little setback, Scotty, so Bones is keeping her in the hospital another day or so."

"'I'm that sorry to hear it, Captain, but 'tis better so 'til she's herself again. Please give her my regards."

"I will, Scotty, thank you. Kirk out."

Jim closed his comm. Now he had to pick up the food, visit his mother and have lunch with her, have a talk with Bones and Tom, then go see Spock to lay down the law about leaving the lab with Bones and Tom in the evening. If Tom had to work a late shift, Spock would have to leave with Bones, both men carrying their phasers. He knew Bones hated carrying his phaser, but he was fully trained in how to use it, and he was a dead shot thanks to his Southern grandfather. Jim sighed. He was not looking forward to telling either Bones or Spock they had to leave together in the evening, but needs must, and their personal safety was paramount. Nothing and no one must interfere with stopping whoever was after the plant DNA research.

At the Chinese restaurant he ordered a variety of food for all of them, making sure he got shrimp egg foo yung, his mother's favorite. She loved Chinese food. It was, she said, the only kind of food she never cooked. She said sometimes it was just nice to eat something she couldn't compare to her own cooking. The food smelled delicious and his stomach rumbled as he carried it back to the shuttle.

He set the food down on the floor of the front seat and flipped open his communicator. He'd check on Peter and T'Lane while he had a minute.

"T'Lane speaking."

"Just checking in, T'Lane. How is your morning at The Exploratorium going?"

"We are proceeding through the 'hands-on' exhibits, Captain. At the present time, Peter is piloting a mining vehicle and collecting virtual minerals. Do you wish to speak with him?"

Jim grinned. He remembered that exhibit well. He and Sam had loved it when their parents took them to The Exploratorium. "No, don't bother him, T'Lane. Just tell him I commed. I'll see you both back at the apartment. Be sure he has a good lunch, please."

"I will tell him, Captain, and I am sure with his present level of activity, Peter will have quite a good lunch," she responded dryly.

Jim grinned. "Thanks, T'Lane. Kirk out."

Jim parked the shuttle in the closest spot he could find since he was carrying quite a lot of food. At Winona's hospital room, the two security officers sniffed appreciatively and grinned as he waited for them to let him in the door. "Sure smells great, Captain."

"I'll bring you guys some next visit," Jim told them. "You can reheat when you go off duty this evening."

"Thanks, Sir," The younger officer told him. Jim smiled at him remembering himself at that age, little more than a boy and always hungry.

His mother was in bed when he walked in. Her face lit up when she saw him. "Jim, sweetheart. Did you come to have lunch with me? How lovely."

"I brought lunch for everyone." He handed Tom the bags and leaned down to kiss his mother. "How are you feeling, Ma."

"A little better, son. I woke up with a headache and I got dizzy when I tried to walk. Leonard gave me something that took care of the symptoms." She rubbed at her forehead and sighed. "I can't go home today, Jim."

"I know, Ma, but you'll be able to soon."

Leonard pushed the bed table toward her and unpacked the bag the bags of food. "Ma's is the egg foo yung, Bones," Jim told him. "I know it's your favorite, Ma, and we can all share the rest."

Tom opened the small portable hospital table and pulled over two chairs. Jim sat on the bed as the three men ate. Conversation was general and nothing further was said about Winona's extended time in the hospital.

Jim finished his meal quickly. "We'll be back this evening, Ma. You'll have a lot if company. T'Lane, Violet, Davy and Gavin are coming besides Peter and I."

"Good," Winona said. "Hospitals are boring, Jim. Now I know why Leonard always says you hate Sick Bay."

"Yes, well. True as that may be, you just be patient, Mrs. Kirk. You'll be out of here soon enough. I have to go. Have to talk to Spock. Bones, a word?" Jim inclined his head to the outside corridor. "Bye, Ma. I'll see you later."

"Goodbye, darling. Thank you for bringing lunch. I think I'm ready for a nap now."

"Good idea," Tom told her, glancing at the biobed readings. He nodded to Jim, obviously satisfied at what he saw.

Jim herded Bones out the door and down the corridor to a secluded corner where they couldn't be overheard.

"What's up, Jimbo?" Leonard looked questioningly at him. "Don't worry about your Ma, she's gonna' be just fine. The meds we gave her just make you sleepy."

"It's not that, Bones. I trust you implicitly. If you tell me she's going to be fine, I believe you. It's about Spock."

"Spock? What's going on with that green bloodied robot?"

"Bones!" Jim looked at him in exasperation.

"Sorry," Leonard muttered. ""Hard habit to break, but I'm tryin', Jimmy."

Jim snorted. "Well, keep trying. Listen, Bones, I had a talk with Gavin this morning. I was very uneasy last night when we left and Spock stayed here. He took the last shuttle to the house, so you know it was very late, probably 0200 when the bars close and it's Fleet's last shuttle run. Gavin and I agreed it wasn't safe. We know the plant data file stays here, safe in the lab, but all that information is stored in Spock's eidetic memory. What if somehow whoever is after the DNA file finds out Spock is working on that research?"

Leonard's face became grave. "Not good."

"Exactly. So I want you and Tom, or just you, if Tom has a night shift, to leave here with Spock in tow. I also want you and Spock to carry your phasers. You can stow yours in the lab until you're ready to leave since you can't have it on the hospital floors."

"Damn it, Jim! I know Spock's gonna' hate that I'm babysittin' him, and I don't want to either," Leonard groused, his blue eyes stormy.

"This is not a request, Lieutenant Commander, it's an order," Jim looked at him, his hazel eyes stern. "You and Mr. Spock will leave the premises together with your phasers. Is that understood?"

Leonard swallowed hard. It was very seldom that Jim pulled rank on him. He could remember only a handful of occasions in all the years they'd served together. "Understood, Captain. I'll manage it somehow."

Jim smiled sweetly at him. "Good. Thanks, Bones. Now I'm going to the lab to give Spock the same order."

"Good luck with that."

"I'll need it, stubborn Vulcan." Jim muttered, his booted feet clicking hard on the floor as he made his way to the lab.

Leonard shook his head as he watched Jim's retreating back going toward the lab. _Better him than me,_ he thought. _Spock's gonna' be mighty peeved at havin' to leave his research 'fore he's ready._


	8. Chapter 8

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 8**

" **...it'll be this kind of deep blue.**

 **The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes**

 **and your ears and all your words..."**

 **Banana Yoshimoto**

Jim, standing in front of Spock in the Fleet lab, clenched his hands into fists behind his back. He sighed in frustration. His talk with Spock was not going particularly well, Spock was insisting that he would be perfectly safe both in the lab and getting back to the house alone. He did not, as he told Jim, in that particularly monotone voice he used when he was irritated, agree with him that he needed Dr. McCoy's presence to remain safe. Vulcan strength and stamina, keen hearing, and exceptional eyesight would prove to be more than adequate to guarantee his safety. Also, he had just completed his initial review of the terra forming team's DNA preliminary data and was now getting into his own deeper research. It would not be logical to cease his research at this particular time.

Trying to convince Spock was proving to be futile, and keeping his patience was also proving to be difficult. So to put an end to the discussion, Jim decided he had no choice but to make it a direct order. Spock would have no choice but to acquiesce to a direct order.

"I also want you and Bones to leave here at a reasonable hour, Spock. Bones needs his rest, even if you don't. He's hardly left Ma's side since he got here. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Captain. I will..."

His comm beeped interrupting whatever Spock was going to say. It was Bones.

"Jim, your Ma wants to see you right away." Bones' voice was calm. "Don't want you to worry, she's fine. She's responding very well to the meds for dizziness and for headache. She woke up from her nap, and insisted pretty strongly that I comm you and if you were still close by to come back. I told her you were going to the lab to see Spock, so I was sure you were still around. Tom and I don't want her to get agitated, so I'm commin' you. Are you still on site?"

"Yeah, I'm still at the lab talking to Spock. Tell Ma I'll be right there, Bones."

He closed his comm to see a faint rise to Spock's eyebrow. "Is Dr. Kirk all right, Captain?"

"I think so, Spock. Bones said so, but Ma wants to talk to me. We'll debrief later about your research progress. After I speak with Ma, I'm going back to the Fleet house to meet with Gavin, Lt Sonnai Connolly, and Uhura about finding the identity of the men who flew the shuttle. This evening I'm bringing Peter and T'Lane to visit with Ma, and she'll have a lot of company, so I'll stop by for your debrief while they're visiting.

"As you wish, Sir. Please give my regards to Dr. Kirk. I hope her improvement continues," Spock said stiffly, obviously still displeased.

"Thank you, Spock, I will," Jim said, sighing internally, deciding to disregard Spock's miff.

Jim headed back quickly to Winona's room wondering what his mother wanted to talk to him about. The security officers looked faintly surprised to see him back so soon, but one of them opened the door for him.

Winona was sitting up in the bio bed and stretched out her hands to him. "Jim dear. Thank you for coming back. I didn't want to speak to you about this over the comm."

Jim grasped her hands tightly. "It's fine, Ma, I'm here now. What is it? What did you want to tell me?" He glanced a question at Leonard who was standing against the wall watching them. Tom was not anywhere in the room. Leonard shrugged his shoulders at Jim's glance. He didn't know what Winona wanted to tell Jim either.

Winona disengaged one hand and rubbed her forehead. Jim looked at her anxiously, then at Bones. "Is your headache worse, Ma?"

"No, dear, it's better. The medicine Tom and Leonard gave me helped my head ache, but it made me sleepy, so I took a nap. I woke up a little while ago, but not fully, you know that stage of wakefulness where you're half asleep and half awake?"

Jim nodded, still grasping her hand tightly.

"All of a sudden, as I was l lying there, I remembered something. One of the men, the one who raised his phaser and stunned me, you know they wore hoods that covered their faces, that man, when he raised his arm, his sleeve drew back a little from his arm, and I caught a glimpse of skin before he fired, it was blue, Jim his arm was blue. He was Andorian!"

"An Andorian! Are you sure, Ma?"

"I'm sure," she said. "I'm a Xenobiologist, Jim. I know skin tones. He was Andorian. There's no mistaking that bright blue color. No other humanoid species that we know of has skin that shade of blue...blue blood, blue skin. I didn't see the white hair or the antennae on him, but I'm certain he was Andorian."

"Anything else you remember?"

"No, dear, not yet." She glanced over to Leonard. "It's a good sign, isn't it Len, that I've remembered something more?"

The doctor came over to the bed, and glanced at Jim reassuringly. "It's a very good sign, Winona. It'll all come back to you, a little at a time, but it will come back. Tom and I are very pleased with your progress."

"By the way, where is Tom?" Jim asked, missing the doctor who had been by his mother' bedside since she'd been admitted.

"He has a new patient to see. Had to go check on her."

"Ma, if you remember anything else, Just comm me and I'll come right back. You were right not to talk about this on the comm. I'm going back to the Fleet house for a while, so I'll be available. Bye, Ma, I'll see you this evening if not before." He bent and kissed the soft cheek.

"All right, dear. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone this evening."

"Bones, a word?" Jim led Leonard out to the hallway, away from the security officers to stand in front of a door labeled 'Bot Janitorial Supplies'. He kept his voice low as he told Bones about Spock's reaction to leaving the hospital together. Jim shook his head. "I finally had to make it an order, Bones. I told him you and Tom, or just you, if Tom has a late shift, would comm when you were ready to leave. He'll leave with you. Make sure you both take your phasers when you leave the lab, and have it easily accessible on your way to shuttle parking."

"Jim, you really think all this is necessary?"

"Gavin and I both think so, Bones. We have no way of knowing how much more information about the plant DNA research is out there. Somehow they found out about Ma, so who's to say they won't find out about Spock or you when you start to help him with the research."

"I guess you're right. We'll be careful. Just hope Spock doesn't get stubborn on me."

"Just remind him you're both under orders. I gotta go, Bones. Gavin, Uhura and Sonnai will be waiting for me. I'll fill them in about the Andorian. Ma is doing better, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is, Jim. It's a real good sign she's remembering stuff."

Jim sighed his relief. "Okay then, see you later. I'll bring dinner for everyone."

"Jim! You don't have to do that, we'll order from the hospital cafeteria."

"Nope, I want to." And with that Jim took off to meet with Gavin and Sonnai.

He brought his shuttle down and saw that Gavin's shuttle was already parked in front of the house. When he walked into the living room, he heard Sonnai and Uhura already deep in conversation about encryption codes.

Sonnai stood. "Captain Kirk, 'tis good to see you again," he smiled at Jim, shaking his hand.

"Likewise, Lt. Connolly," Jim responded cordially. He liked the young officer with the faint Irish brogue clinging to his speech. The Lieutenant was unassuming, pleasant and warm in his manner, and besides that, he was brilliant at codes and encryptions.

"I just came from the hospital and I have some important news Ma suddenly remembered something when she woke up earlier. She told me that one of the men who broke into her office was an Andorian. She saw his blue skin when he raised his arm to fire at her and his sleeve rode up."

Gavin whistled. "An Andorian. Well that's a game changer right there and a little more to go on. I wonder if he was for hire or working for himself," he mused.

"A good question, Gavin. Sonnai, Uhura, that's something else for you to find out once you have the name of the shuttle renters. Andorian names are very distinctive, shouldn't be that hard to find out something about him."

"That they are, Captain. We were just about to begin working on the encryption code. I have no way of knowing how long this will take...it depends on how sophisticated the shuttle company's software is," Uhura told him.

"I'll leave you two to it then. I need to make a quick trip to the farm. Mom is going to need more clothes and so will Peter. There's no way they're going back to the farm until this is all over. I'll drop in to Jonathon's Office to update him. I'll be back later this afternoon, pick up dinner and collect Peter and T'Lane. We'll meet you, Violet and Davy in Ma's room, Gavin."

"Jim, let me pick up dinner. You'll be pressed for time, I'll be happy to do it."

"Thanks, Gavin that would be a help. I thought of hamburgers and fries for everyone. Be sure T'Lane's is a soy burger, okay? Oh, and please pick up a couple of burgers for the Security Officers. I promised them." He dug out a credit chip and tried to hand it to Gavin.

Gavin shook his head. "My treat, Jim. After all the times your mom has fed me, I'm happy to do it. How about you two?" he asked Uhura and Sonnai.

Uhura and Sonnai looked at each other. "We'll order something when we get hungry," Sonnai responded for them both.

"I've got to get back to my office. Keep me posted on your progress, Lieutenant Connolly."

"Yes, Commander."

Jim boarded his shuttle and put in the coordinates for Riverside. He ascended quickly above the Earth's atmosphere for his flight. At warp 1 he'd be there in 20 minutes or so. Warp flying was illegal within the Earth's atmosphere because vehicles in warp flew in a quantum "other space" and not real space and could not be seen in real space. The flight, although not long, would give him a little bit of quiet time to think, so far they were getting nowhere fast on this mission. A lot depended on Sonnai and Uhura finding the rental shuttle's passengers' names and on his mother remembering anything else. It had been a stroke of luck that she had even seen and remembered the skin color of the Andorian shooter. How had an Andorian gotten involved in all this?

True Andorians were a volatile species, testy and quick to take offense as many Starfleet officers and diplomats could attest to. They had a genetic predisposition toward violent behavior and it was only their rigid and highly structured society rules which helped to tame their quick tempers. Andorians seemed to bottle up their rage when they traveled across the galaxy to other worlds to interact with other species, and, for the most part, managed to contain themselves in public, but sometime they erupted into violent outbursts, much to the consternation of Vulcans who sat on the Federation Council with them. It was a genetic trait; their bio-chemistry induced these reactions to fight in order to increase their sensory input levels, which, in turn, led to them having great abilities at analysis and reasoning. This, the Vulcans did admire in the Andorian species.

Still, Jim mused, the fact that an Andorian was involved put a new spin on the puzzle of who was behind the attempted theft. Had the attempt been at the behest of the Andor Planetary Ruling Council? Or was it a paid-for-hire attempt, a lone wolf Andorian who was being paid for acquiring the chip, or was it an Earth, Andorian or other world corporation or pharmaceutical company behind the attempts? His mother had only seen one blue skinned burglar, but was the other man an Andorian too? Jim sighed...way too many questions and not a single answer.

His coordinates indicated he was over Riverside. When he'd commed Jonathon before he took off, the Chief had told Jim they could meet at the farm instead of his office. The less people who saw Jim, the better.

Jim popped out of warp high up in the atmosphere. This was Iowa farm country, no need to spook the cows and horses the farmers had out grazing. He slowed down to low impulse speed and ascended to the back field where all the Kirks and their guests had always parked their shuttles.

The farm and barn looked peaceful and undisturbed. Jim decided that while he waited for Jonathon he'd go into the house and pack up a few more clothes for his mother and for Peter. He walked to the back door and put in the access code to lower the Security shield. He'd leave it down for Jonathon. Before leaving the farm he'd check on the animals, give them enough food and water to last them until tomorrow morning and that would save Mr. Thompson and Jonathan's Officer a trip this afternoon.

He walked into the homey kitchen. It had always been the heart of the farmhouse even back in his grandparents and great grandparent's time. Jim knew it was only his imagination, but despite the sunshine streaming in through the window, the room looked gloomy and depressing without the warm, smiling presence of his mother.

He turned on lights as he went, even though it was early afternoon and not really necessary. In his mother's bedroom he found a large tote bag and put in a couple of more changes of clothing for her, then did the same in Peter's room. He shook his head as he saw the pile of Sorrel's cat toys in Peter's room, so he picked up a few more toys for the spoiled kitty too. He'd get a grocery bag from the kitchen to put them in.

He heard a noise coming from the kitchen and called out, "Jonathon?"

"Yeah, it's me, Jim. What are you doing? And you shouldn't have left the back door unlocked," Jonathon told him, meeting him in the hallway. "Anyone could have come in."

"That's sort of what I was hoping for," Jim said. "I have my phaser and it would have been a fast and easy way to apprehend whoever broke into the house to steal that DNA data."

Jonathon shook his head, his face somber "Not a good idea in my book, Jim. We don't know who these guys really are, or how ruthless they may be. You could have been outnumbered, or you could have been shot like your mom. I know I sound like a cautious police officer, and you've probably been in many such confrontations, but it wasn't a good idea. Think about Peter and about your mother if you'd been hurt"

Jim bristled for a moment. He was a trained Starfleet Officer; he could take care of himself, and had done so many times in firefights, hand to hand combat, and even in prison cells. He looked at Jonathon his hazel eyes flashing with ire, but Jonathon looked back at him steadily, not backing down an inch.

Jim finally looked down. "Yeah, you're right, Jonathon. It was a bad impulse. I'm just frustrated. So far we haven't made any progress at all on this mission and Admiral Nogura is worried and pressing for answers."

Jonathon sighed. "I know, Jim, we're all frustrated. It's proving to be extremely difficult to find out anything about who these guys are. I'm pinning my hopes on Uhura."

"Speaking of Uhura, she's gotten some help." Jim updated him about his meeting with the Admirals and about Gavin bringing in Lt. Sonnai Connolly to help Uhura and about their attempts to break the management company's encryption.

"Good." Jonathon looked pleased. "It's a good thing that Uhura's gotten help. I don't have the resources or the man power to devote a full time person to the search, and I was constrained by the secrecy of your mission and not revealing too much about the reason for the break in." He followed Jim to the kitchen and they both looked around carefully. All was as it should be. They exited the house and Jim put up the security shield.

"I'm going to feed the animals, Jonathon. It will save Mr. Thompson and your officer a visit."

"I'll feed the chickens," Jonathon told him, and started laughing. Jim looked at him quizzically. "Remember how Sam hated to feed the chickens? He said they just didn't like him and tried to peck him every time he went in the coop. He was always trying to get me to do it for him." He shook his head. "I usually would do it for him, sucker that I was," he added ruefully.

Jim laughed, remembering. "He was always trying to get me to do it too; he'd ask me to trade chores with him. He would feed Ginger and Dapple instead if I'd feed the chickens. I usually did it too." Jim felt that familiar ache in his chest at the thought of Sam, the best big brother possible, and Jonathon's best friend all through school. The acute grief and pain were gone now, but there would always be a huge hole in his heart for his dead brother. "Between the two of us, it's a wonder he ever fed the chickens," Jim smiled.

They made quick work of taking care of the animals. Jim chatted with the old horse, Ginger, who was looking great, and who whinnied with pleasure at seeing Jim. Peter took good care of him, and although Ginger was an old horse, he was still ridden regularly. Dapple was, as usual, placid and unconcerned with anything except his oats. He was Winona's donkey, and had come to them as one of the last gifts that Jim's dad had given his wife. He was cosseted and spoiled just as all the Kirk animals were, including the chickens.

Jonathon came into the barn. "There were a few eggs, Jim." He showed him the 4 eggs in his hands.

"Take them home, Jonathon. Enjoy farm fresh eggs tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, I will." Jonathon smiled his pleasure. Replicated eggs were not very good and fresh eggs were a treat.

Jim closed and locked the barn door while Jonathon commed his officer to let him know the chores had been taken care of and to let Mr. Thompson know. With that, the two men walked to the back field to their respective shuttles.

Jim's comm beeped. "Wait up, Jonathon. It's Gavin. Maybe he has some news. Kirk here."

"Jim!" Gavin's voice sounded triumphant. Sonnai and Uhura got us a name! The Andorian's name is Thoris. I'm checking all available data bases for him right now."

Jim's eyes gleamed as he looked over at Jonathon. "Great news, Gavin! I'll be right there. Kirk out!"


	9. Chapter 9

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 9**

" **Masks camouflage the faces of both good and evil.**

 **Keeps hidden what is a truth and what is a lie."**

 **Patti Roberts**

Jim promised Jonathon an update as soon as he heard the Intel from Gavin, Uhura and Sonnai. His mind was whirling with anticipation. At last, something concrete to go on! He itched to go faster, but the small shuttle was already being pushed to its maximum warp one 1 capacity. He curtailed his impatience as best he could until his coordinates showed he was back in San Francisco. He commed Space Central for permission to pop out of warp, since San Francisco proper had very heavily trafficked shuttle lanes. Once he got the go ahead he popped into real space and landed the shuttle at the Fleet House. He jumped out and hurried inside, first scanning the area to make sure there was no one around to see him enter the house.

Uhura and Gavin were still at the computer almost exactly like he'd left them earlier. Gavin was on his comm sitting a little away from the other two. He waved at Jim, but kept on talking.

Uhura looked up as he came in, her look triumphant. "Captain, we have both names now. Thoris, the Andorian and Edward Baghdassarian. Gavin is on the comm with SIS, he's having them check all available data bases for the two."

"Excellent work, you two. First good bit of concrete Intel we've had since this mission began." He glanced at Gavin in the kitchen who was nodding his head and speaking into his comm. He flipped it close and came over to Jim.

"I've got my best people searching all available data bases to find these two. Once we know who they really are, if they're working for themselves or for someone else, we can decide if we want to apprehend them now, or wait until they lead us to someone else." He clasped Sonnaii on the shoulder. "Your job here is done for now, Lieutenant. I'd like for you to go back to SIS and help the team find the two men. Go ahead and take my shuttle, I'll catch a ride back with the Captain."

"Yes, Sir. Lt. Uhura, it was a pleasure working with you."

"Likewise, Lt. Connolly. I hope we'll meet again before our ship leaves San Francisco. Goodbye," she smiled at him.

Gavin gave him his shuttle code and walked him to the door giving him his instructions softly, then came back to Jim and Uhura.

"Now we wait," he told them. Uhura got up from her chair and stretched her tired back. Jim noticed. "Is your back bothering you, Uhura?"

"Just need to stretch and walk, Captain. We worked all morning without a break. I'm just feeling cramped."

"I'm getting hungry," Jim said. "Why don't we grab some lunch while we're waiting for your team to get back to you, Gavin."

"I could eat," Gavin said. "How about you, Nyota?"

"I am hungry," she admitted. "We didn't even stop for a snack, and it's well after lunch time."

"Good." Jim thought for a minute. "Let's go to the Wharf for some good seafood. We can't get that on the ship, and it'll give you a chance to walk a little and stretch your legs...and we can't get food like that on the ship. Alright, Uhura?"

"Absolutely! That sounds great to me," she replied. "Just give me a minute to freshen up."

As he piloted the shuttle to Fisherman's Wharf, Jim's frame of mind had vastly improved with the prospect of more Intel and maybe the possibility of some action. He landed the shuttle in the gigantic Wharf parking area and they made their way to one of Jim's favorite restaurants, The Galleon. It was an informal, small place, with the reputation for simple, well prepared, fresh seafood in a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. They were taken, at Jim's request, to a quiet, corner booth where they could talk without being overheard. Once seated they each ordered a beer, and their favorite seafood selection. Jim ordered clam chowder and grilled Red Snapper; Uhura chose Coconut shrimp, and Gavin, the fried oysters. The food came out quickly, fresh and hot, and they ate with good appetite, enjoying quiet conversation on general topics, not touching on their mission at all. Afterward they ordered coffee and dessert.

Jim sat back grinning after enjoying his bread pudding with a rich sweetened rum sauce "While the Bones is away, the Captain will indulge," he told them, face solemn, but lips twitching.

Uhura giggled. "I won't tell on you, Captain."

"Neither will I, Jim, but you better back me up about the hamburgers and French fries I'm taking to the hospital for everyone this evening. I have to be prepared for a Dr. McCoy scolding," Gavin told them.

"Yep, 'a heart attack waiting to happen' is what he'll say, but he'll eat the hamburger and fries anyway. Bones loves hamburgers and fries. You can bet when he was a Georgia teen ager he consumed plenty of them. It's practically required eating in the South," Jim said.

Gavin's comm beeped. "Bradford here." He lowered his head and voice and listened intently to the voice on the other end. "Thanks, Lieutenant. We'll be there shortly." He looked at Jim and Uhura. "We need to get back to the office, ASAP. Sonaii has some Intel that he thinks we should look at."

Jim looked at Uhura. "I'd like you to come with us, Lieutenant. I want you to stay in the information loop. We may need you again later."

"Of course, Sir. Whatever I can do to help."

The shuttle ride back was silent, each of them speculating on the many different possibilities that could arise with this new Intel.

Gavin parked the shuttle and they walked quickly to the door. The security officers scanned Uhura's ID and SF credentials carefully in spite of Gavin's ill concealed impatience. Finally, one of the officers buzzed them in. Uhura looked askance at them. "Is security always so tight, Commander?"

Gavin nodded. "Always, but since you are with me I thought it would go faster. Obviously I was wrong."

They took the lift to his office and his yeoman pointed to a back room. "Everyone's in there, Commander."

"Thank you, Ensign. Hold all my comms please."

"Aye, Sir."

Sonaii and his team, a Bajoran woman, and another human male were sitting sipping coffee when they walked in and then stood and saluted. "At ease, everyone," Gavin told the trio. "T' Tass, Edwards, you're dismissed. Thank you for your hard work. Go get some lunch."

"Yes, Commander."

Gavin closed the door behind them. "Have you had lunch, Sonaii?" Sonnai had a big smile on his face as he handed Gavin one hard copy and Jim another one of their findings.

"No, Sir. I'll get something in a while. Commander, there's quite a bit of information here, more on Edward Baghdassarian than on Thoris, but we know a lot more about them now."

Jim read the copy he held in his hands.

 _Thoris:_

 _Species: Andorian;_

 _Born: Andor, seventh planet in orbit around the star Procyon (Alpha Canis Minoris) in the Beta quadrant;_

 _Age 56 Andorian years;_

 _Status: unmarried;_

 _Place of residence: unknown (see note)_

 _Note 1a._

 _Thoris is presently a fugitive wanted by the Andorian Government Police for failure to report for the Ushaan, a ritual fight with another citizen of Andor (name withheld to protect his privacy). The Ushaan is a duel to the death, which is fought with hand-held ice-cutting blades called Ushaan-Tor. This failure to report is considered an act of cowardice and also a crime against the Andorian code of honor. The Ushaan Right of Substitution allows combatants to choose another combatant to fight in their place. There are 12,000 amendments to the honor code that governs the Ushaan, and one rule states that either combatant can postpone a duel indefinitely if the combatant is married and has no children. Neither Thoris nor the unnamed Andorian citizen was married, so this clause could not be used by either one. The Ushaan is settled when a combatant is rendered defenseless, and in these modern times, death is not necessarily a requirement. This agreement can be reached by the two combatants prior to the duel._

 _(End Note 1a)._

 _Thoris, in an extreme break with Andorian honor and tradition, refused to choose a substitute for the Ushaan as was his right and as he was honor bound to do so by the Andor honor code if he chose not to fight. He also failed to secure the agreement of non-fatality with the other combatant, thus branding him with extreme cowardice. Rather, he chose to flee Andor about 6 a.y. ago, leaving behind all his possessions, which have since been confiscated by the Andorian Government. He has, on several occasions, been sighted on various Federation planets, but has so far evaded capture by the Andorian authorities. It has been speculated that he makes his living by undertaking missions of dubious legality across the Alpha quadrant._

 _He was last sighted on Majoris 2, in the Alpha Centauri system 10 earth months ago. The Andorian Government has placed a bounty on Thoris of 50,000 credits for his capture._

 _Note 1b_

 _According to the Andorian World Historical data base, Thoris is the first Andorian to flee his home world rather than fight the Ushaan. It is speculated among Andorian citizens that the large bounty for his capture is to discourage any other Andorian from doing the same. Thus far the bounty has proven to be an effective deterrent._

 _(End Note 1b)_

Jim looked up when he finished reading. "Well that answers one question. Thoris has obviously been hired for this job. I had a feeling that was the way it was. Although Andorians are a testy and volatile race, they have a strict code of honor, and law breakers are rare, very rare. We know from reports from the Federation Council, and their refusal for assistance with law enforcement, that they take care of their own lawbreakers, and they do it quickly. Thoris is a rare exception. Somehow he's managed to escape apprehension by the Andorian authorities for several years. I imagine that doesn't sit well with the Andorian authorities. But we'll get him, Jim said grimly." He crossed a line when he attacked my mother. And there's no way he's going to get away with it. There's also no way he's getting his hands on that data."

"Jim, SIS will, by mutual agreement with the Andorian authorities on fugitives, have to report that Thoris has been seen here on Earth, and that there's evidence he injured an Earth citizen."

"I know, Gavin, and it's not a bad thing. The more people looking for him, the better." He looked over to Sonaii. "What about any Intel on Edward Baghdassarian, Lieutenant?"

"There was a lot more Intel about him than on Thoris." Sonaii handed Jim and Gavin the second report. "I summarized it for you. There was a lot. If you want to see the rest, I can print it out for you."

Jim and Gavin scanned the document quickly; Sonaii had helpfully highlighted the most important points.

 _Edward Baghdassarian was born in the Alpha Centauri system on a small mining moon. Solano I. His father was a mining engineer, his mother a chemist. He was the youngest of four children, the only boy, and thus doted on by his three siblings and parents. By all accounts he excelled in school, and was labeled brilliant by his instructors early on. Apparently, the boy inherited his mother's talents in chemistry, but to a much higher degree. His secondary school head master urged the parents to send him back to Earth for his University education, and he was accepted at both Stanford and MIT. His scientific interests led him to accept MIT's offer. His professors were impressed with his brilliance, and he'd graduated in three years instead of four with a dual degree in Biochemistry and physics. At the urging of his professors, he went on to earn a doctorate in Biochemistry, and after his graduation with his PhD, with the blessings and financial backing of his parents and his three older sisters, he'd founded Centauri Pharmaceuticals at the age of 25. He'd acted as the chief chemist and researcher for two years, until the company grew and showed a hefty profit. After paying his family's investments back, he plowed everything he earned into the business, except for the credits needed to hire more chemists and biochemists researchers. In the ten years since then, his company had grown exponentially, large enough to be a formidable competitor to bigger and longer established pharmaceutical corporations. Baghdassarian has sole control of his company, acting as both CEO and CFO, although there has been a lot of pressure put on him to make his company a public. Many investors are panting to buy stock in his flourishing business, while at the same time putting a great deal of pressure on him to develop more esoteric drugs to widen the scope of his drug offerings. It is true that no new innovative drugs have been brought forth by Centauri Pharmaceuticals in the last two years._

 _Baghdassarian's University psychological profile indicated that he was a focused, driven, serious individual. In spite of his great wealth he does not spend his credits frivolously. He trusts no one except his immediate family, and he dotes on his parents, sisters, nephews and nieces. He has put money in trust for the children's education and provided generously for his parents and siblings, but_ while he has built homes for them close to his own home, _he does not indulge them financially otherwise. In spite of his seemingly conservative personality, his profile indicates that he is a risk taker, not afraid to take chances if he has to, and that he has a ruthless streak when there is a goal he wants to attain. He lets no obstacle stand in his way. He is not married, nor does he have a partner. The women he has dated have been educated, beautiful, and established in their own careers, but no serious relationship has ever developed from any of his liaisons. His home and his headquarters are located on Solano, where he grew up; built on an extensive piece of property next door to his parents. His home is large, but not ostentatious, and he employs a cleaning service, but no house keeper; when he is in residence, his mother provides all his meals and his father keeps his calendar, answers all his personal mail and all requests for speaking engagements._

 _At the present time, although it is difficult to track all of Baghdassarian's assets, his net worth has been reported to be close to a billion credits._

 _ **End Report**_

Jim looked up, his eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Wow, this guy really certainly doesn't trust anyone. Imagine having his mother doing all the cooking for him."

"I bet that's why he rides with Thoris in the shuttle," Gavin mused. "He doesn't trust him to procure the data file. He's afraid that he'll turn around and try to sell it to the highest bidder. He hired Thoris to do all the dirty work, but he's keeping an eye on him all the same."

"I wonder how much Thoris knows about what's in that file," Uhura mused.

"Not much, I bet," Jim answered. "Baghdassarian will play it close to his chest, give Thoris the least amount of information possible. All he'll know is that it's important enough for Baghdassarian not to trust it with him, to ride with him on the shuttle and to accompany him for his search in Ma's office; in other words damn important."

Sonaii who had been silent up to now, shifted restlessly in his seat. "Commander, I was wondering if you and the Captain might want me to do some further research on what Baghdassarian's chemists and those of other companies might be working on now, and also on the fiscal health of the company. These pharmaceutical companies are cut throat in their competition. I bet Baghdassarian Is feeling pressured for a reason. Information about the longevity plant had to be pretty general at best, so I'm wondering if any other company is working on something to extend life, not in any way tied to the Lamma II plant. I can search the Universal Wide Net for rumors."

Jim and Gavin looked at each other. "Great idea, Sonaii," Gavin said. "But I prefer if you don't do it here. Why don't you and Uhura work at the Fleet house. I'll authorize your checking out one of our computers, so both of you can do the searches. There are a tremendous number of pharmaceutical companies across the Alpha Quadrant."

"Are you up for it, Lieutenant?" Jim asked.

"Yes, Captain. I know it won't be easy, but I want to help."

"Sonaii, you go ahead and use my shuttle. I'll borrow another one later today. Captain Kirk has too much to do to ferry me around."

"Aye, Commander. Are you ready, Lieutenant?" Sonaii picked up the computer he was using, and Gavin sent a message to the door sentries and logged it out.

"I'm ready. I'll see you later, Captain." Uhura followed Sonaii out.

"I need to fill Jonathon in about Thoris, Gavin. That he's wanted in Andor."

"Yes, and I have to notify the Andorian authorities that he's here on Earth."

Both men got on their respective commas to impart the information on Thoris. Jonathon told Jim, he'd step up patrols and let his colleagues know there was an Andorian fugitive at large.

"I'll send you his ID holo right away, Jonathon so you can pass it on to your colleagues."

"We'll track him down. With all law enforcement officers helping, it won't be long before he's spotted."

"When he's apprehended, I want a chance to question him before he's turned over to the Andorian authorities."

"Now, Jim, you know I can't let you question him alone...but you can be present when I question him and maybeeee you can ask a couple of questions, "Jonathon drawled.

Jim smiled grimly. He had a couple of questions to ask the Andorian, all right.

Jim checked his chronometer. It was time to meet T'Lane and Peter at his apartment and take them to visit Winona. Gavin was also leaving his office to get Violet and Davy, then pick up the hamburgers and join them at the hospital.

It had been a long day, Jim mused, but at last they were getting somewhere. The next step was to verify the research data, to be sure one way or the other about the plant DNA. And, knowing Spock, that was well on the way. Could the DNA be used by humanoids or some other species? If so, would it be used as leverage for who knew what nefarious ends? Would it be exploited by unscrupulous beings to bend others to their will? Until they knew for certain about how the plant DNA worked or how it could be used, these were all moot questions with no answers.


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy New Year to all my readers! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.**

 **And here is Chapter 10.**

 **The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 10**

 **"Home."**

 **"This was my mantra, my four-letter savior."**

 **M.B. Dallocchio,**

Jim walked quietly into the apartment to the sound of giggling. "Peter, I have observed that Sorrel does that quite deliberately to make you laugh, therefore, I consider him to be a very intelligent cat since he succeeds every time. His mother, Queen Cleo, would be quite proud of him."

"He is very smart, T'Lane. Noni says he's the smartest cat she's ever seen."

"If your Noni says that is so, then it must be so. She is a highly intelligent scientist."

"Hello you two. Did you have a good day?" He smiled at the sight of the two of them sitting happily on the living room floor playing with Sorrel. Peter jumped up and dislodged the cat from his lap. "Uncle Jim!" He gave Jim a tight hug, which Jim returned. He kept his arm around the child.

"Captain." T'Lane stood in one graceful, fluid motion. "We had a very pleasant and educational day. I believe Peter found our outing quite gratifying. Is that not so, Peter?"

Peter grinned up at his uncle and translated. "We had a lot of fun, today, Uncle Jim. The Exploratorium is amazing."

"Glad to hear it. I thought you'd enjoy it. Your dad and I always did. Now then, are the two of you ready to visit Ma in the hospital?" He asked.

"I'm ready, Uncle Jim, and T'Lane is too, aren't you T'Lane?"

"I am, Captain."

"Let's get going then. Gavin is bringing supper for all of us, hamburgers, and a soy burger for you, T'Lane. Evening visiting hours have just started. Peter, grab your jacket. You too, T'Lane, it's getting chilly outside because a thick fog is rolling in. I need to grab my leather jacket as well."

The ride to the hospital was short, but Jim flew the shuttle slowly, carefully, with his red running lights at full power as recommended. The fog was getting heavier by the minute, and visibility was poor. San Francisco traffic control was advising caution and slower speeds. He increased his forward sensors to maximum, not taking any chances with Peter aboard the shuttle; the child was infinitely precious to him.

He gave a soft sigh of relief when he saw the hospital parking lot was well lit. During heavy fog, Starfleet upped the brilliance of the lights surrounding the parking area and it was very helpful to shuttle pilots. He brought the shuttle down and turned to his two passengers. "Bundle up warmly you two, the temperature has dropped even more. This weather is unusual for San Francisco in the summer, but it does get cold occasionally. Especially you, T'Lane, you're not used to cold and dampness. Now Peter here is used to Iowa winters," he smiled at Peter.

"Amanda has frequently mentioned about the San Francisco dampness and cold weather that can come in with the fog. She recommended that when I venture outside, I wear socks and keep my head covered. On past occasions when I have come here with Sarek and Amanda, I have adhered strictly to her suggestions with excellent results. By the way, Captain, I am bid to give Dr. Kirk a message from Sarek and Amanda. As soon as they have concluded their official business with the Federation Council, they hope to visit with Dr. Kirk. Meanwhile they extend their good wishes and their hope for her speedy recovery."

"Ma will be pleased to hear that, T'Lane. I hope she'll be home soon and their visit can happen there."

Peter was bouncing ahead of them, anxious to see his grandmother. "Wait up, Squirt," Jim called out. "Security is tight here, and you need to stay with me and T'Lane."

At Winona's door, Jim introduced T'Lane to the two security officers making sure she was added to the Okay List. Winona's door was slightly ajar and he could hear faint murmurs, Bones' southern drawl, Tom's deep baritone and his mother's light musical voice. He knocked lightly and the three of them walked in to see Winona sitting in a comfortable wing chair, smiling up at them.

"Ma! You're out of bed! That's great."

"I'm feeling fine, dear." Winona stretched out her arms and Peter came straight into them to snuggle in the big chair as Jim leaned in to kiss his mother. He looked a question at Bones and Tom.

"She's doin' great, Jim. Tom and I agree she can go home tomorrow. Hey T'Lane, good to see you, darlin'. T'Lane, this is Dr. Tom Jeffries, he's in charge of Winona's case, and I'm helping him out.

T'Lane nodded politely to Tom. "Dr. McCoy, I am most pleased to see you again and to see Dr. Kirk looking so well."

"I'm feeling fine, T'Lane." Winona beckoned to her. "Come sit down and tell me about what you and Peter have been doing and about Sarek and Amanda."

Away from the conversation around the big chair, Jim, Leonard and Tom spoke softly.. "I think we can safely discharge her tomorrow, Captain," Tom Jeffries told him.

"I agree, Jim. She's goin' to your apartment, right?"

"Absolutely. She and Peter will stay at the apartment until this mission is over. We have some leads now so we're finally getting somewhere. I'll have to fill you in, Bones." Jim looked over to the trio happily chatting. "How is her memory?"

"It's comin' back slowly, but it's comin' back."

Dr. Jeffries nodded his agreement. "It's very important that her memory comes back naturally. The speed of recovery for her memories can't be forced. Some of them may never return, that's not uncommon after a concussion, but we're very encouraged by what she has already remembered."

There was a soft knock at the door. Gavin stuck his head in; in his hands was a huge, great smelling bag of food. He was followed by Violet and an excited Davy. "Ji, Ji, Ji,!" He ran toward Jim, a radiant grin on his face. Jim scooped him up and hugged him tight. "Hey, Davy. How's my little buddy?" Davy put his arms around Jim's neck to hug him, then leaned back to ask "Prise?"

Jim laughed. "The _Enterprise_ is just fine, Davy." Still carrying Davy he gave Violet a hug. He looked at her admiringly. "You're prettier every time I see you, Violet. Marriage agrees with you."

She smiled at him, dimples flashing, hugging him back. "We're very happy," she whispered in his ear. She took the protesting Davy from Jim. "Let's say hello to Nona, Davy," she told him, carrying him to Winona. "And then we're going to eat supper. I know you're hungry."

"Hungee," Davy agreed. Jim took the bag from Gavin and began handing out the hamburgers and fries, making sure T'Lane got the soy burger.

Speaking quietly under cover of the hub of conversation in the corner, Jim and Gavin brought Bones and Tom up to speed on the identity of the men who'd attacked Winona. Leonard looked thoughtful. "So it is good ole' fashioned greed after all," he said. "Nothin' more than that." He shook his head. "We cain't let someone like Baghdassarian get his hands on that DNA, Jim. Imagine what he could do with that in his hands; with his huge pharmaceutical conglomerate, imagine the possible consequences."

"We won't let that happen, Bones, I promise you. Now, come on, let's eat. Gavin brought hamburgers and fries for all of us, from that hamburger joint we've always liked so much on Stanyon Street.

"Heart attack waitin' to happen," Leonard muttered darkly, "but I do love hamburgers and fries," he sighed. "Guess this one time it'll be okay."

Gavin and Jim exchanged amused, knowing glances. "That's the spirit, Bones! Even the security officers are having some. Gavin brought enough for everyone."

Peter and Davy sat on the floor to eat, a bathroom towel spread out under their food, while some the adults ate their food sitting on the edge of the bed and others sat on the folding chairs. The whole room was redolent with the good smells of hamburgers and fragrant French fries. There was a contented silence as everyone ate.

"Ma, I'll come to pick you up at whatever time Bones and Tom dismiss you. Just comm me and I'll be here. By the way, Uhura said to tell you she'd visit you later on, she hasn't been able to get away from her work to come to the hospital."

"I'll be happy to see her whenever she can visit." Winona said happily. "It'll be good to get home."

"Ma, you're not going home, you and Peter are staying with me at the apartment." He gave a significant glance down to Peter who was helping Davy eat, patiently feeding him tiny amounts of meat and cooled fries. "It's not safe for you and Peter to be at the farm right now," he told her very softly.

"Alright, dear. Whatever you think is best." She nodded her understanding.

Conversation became pleasantly general and the visiting hour passed quickly. "Time for us to be going," Gavin announced. He bent and picked up Davy. "It's your bedtime, young man," he told the sleepy Davy. "Say bye, bye, to everyone."

"Bye, Bye, Ji," Davy said obediently. Everyone laughed as the Bradford's bid Winona goodbye.

"Guess we know who's the favorite around here," Leonard mock grumbled, running a gentle hand over Davy's soft blond curls.

"That child has always had excellent taste," Jim answered smugly, leaning in to kiss Davy's velvety soft cheek. He did the same to Violet and walked with them out the door to the hallway. "I'll see you and Davy again soon, Violet, I'd like everyone to come to the apartment for dinner after Ma is a little stronger. Bones says she has to take things very slowly and not overdo it. T'Lane will stay on for a few more days to keep Peter company until Ma is fully recovered."

"If she needs company or if you need anything at all, just let me know, Jim. I can take off from work for a couple of days. Perks of being the boss of the Forensic Pathology Department."

"Thanks, Violet I may take you up on that offer, Ma is not very good at doing nothing," Jim smiled ruefully. "Gavin, I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully by then, we'll have more information from Sonaii," he added softly, for Gavin's ears alone.

When Jim returned to his mother's room, the night shift security officers were just coming on duty. The outgoing two officers saluted Jim. "Our shift is over, Captain. I've turned over the day log of visitors and the IDs to Lt. Zapata, here. We're off duty until tomorrow morning. Thanks again for the burgers and fries. Time for us to go eat dinner, the burgers and fries are still warm. Sure will beat replicated food in our quarters."

"Good, enjoy them. I'll see you in the morning. I hope that my mother will be dismissed sometime tomorrow, but I'll be here tomorrow morning regardless. Good night." He nodded to the two new Security officers and entered the room.

Winona was back in bed and Peter and T'Lane were sitting close by. "How are you doing, Ma? Not too tired after so many visitors?"

"I'm fine, dear. I really enjoyed the company. You know how I love having people visit."

"I know," Jim told her smiling. "Five more minutes," he told T'Lane and Peter, "and we'll be leaving."

"Bones, Tom." They walked to the corner of the room to speak quietly. "So do you really think Ma can go home tomorrow?"

"I think so, Captain," Tom Jeffries said. "Her vitals are all excellent. Leonard and I agree she can continue with her headache medication at home. They've diminished considerably, so she can take it as needed as soon as she feels the onset of one. It's important not to let it get to a full blown debilitating headache, so Leonard and I will make sure your mother understands how she's to use the drug. I think that by the end of the week she'll be completely over her headaches. Her energy level is also returning, but she must still rest daily and take it easy for at least another two weeks. Light activity is fine, doing a little more each day until she's back to normal. I understand from Leonard she'll be staying with you in your apartment?"

"Yes, I don't want her and Peter at the farm house yet. The farm is pretty isolated."

"That's good to hear, Captain. Your mother will still need close observation for a few more days. We also feel that being back with her family will go a long way to further her complete recovery."

"T'Lane will still be with us and I'll be in and out as my mission permits. Earlier I spoke to Lady Amanda briefly, and she wants T'Lane to stay with us for as long as we need her. She and Peter will keep a close eye on Ma. I have complete confidence in T'Lane. Also, Gavin told me that the Security detail will be assigned to Ma. They'll monitor the apartment day and night. It will be the same protocol as they've followed here. Admiral Nogura insisted that we take no chances."

Leonard agreed. "I second that idea."

"Bones, after we leave I want you to go back to the house. You've been working nonstop since you got here and you need some rest. Ma is out of danger now, and you don't need to stay here so late. You go to the lab and get Spock and go home. If he resists tell him I said it's an order."

"I am tired, but so is Tom, Jim," Leonard protested. "He's been here just as much as I have."

"Don't worry about me, Leonard. I'll stay to give Dr. Kirk her evening meds, I'll wait until she falls asleep, and then I'll go get some rest too. I'm on call anyway, so I'll be sleeping in the Call Room close by."

"You heard the man, Bones."

"Yeah, all right, Jim. Stop worrying, I'll go."

"Good. Peter, T'Lane, time to go. Kiss Noni goodnight, Squirt. Ma, you get a good night's sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'm sure I'll sleep well. Leonard and Tom will make sure," Winona smiled at her two doctors. "Goodnight, dear. I love you."

"Love you too. Sleep well, Ma."

Their shuttle flight back to the apartment was quick and mostly silent. Jim looked down at Peter sitting quietly next to him. "A little tired, Squirt? You've had a full day." Peter nodded.

"You're not still worried about Noni, are you? Because she's recovering really well, Peter. Dr. Bones and Dr. Jeffries told me she can come home tomorrow for sure."

"Really, Uncle Jim? Are we going back to the farm?"

"Really, Squirt. And no, you and Noni are staying at the apartment with me. T'Lane is also staying with us a few more days to keep you both company while I'm at work."

Peter glanced at the Vulcan girl sitting in the back seat for confirmation. "It is so, Peter-kam. I am gratified that I will be with you and your Noni a few more days. We will help her regain her usual spirit and stamina...and," she added, a twinkle in her dark eyes, "we will practice our culinary skills and cook for her."

Peter grinned. He and T'Lane had spent a good amount of time looking at recipes on her padd. There had been some that were above their combined skill sets, she had solemnly informed Peter. They should choose recipes where their success rate would be at least 97% assured. She and Peter had conferred with Lady Amanda by comm call about some of their recipe choices and Amanda had been enthusiastically encouraging of their efforts. Now with Winona recovering at the apartment, she and Peter would once again, look for additional recipes, this time with Winona's needs in mind. "Peter, it would be good for your Noni to have visitors to distract and entertain her. I suggest we invite Lady Amanda for lunch to enjoy our cooking. What do you think?"

"I like that idea, T'Lane," Jim interjected. "Also Uhura would like to visit, so does Violet so why don't you two invite them also? You like that idea, Peter?"

"Yep, it'll be fun to cook for them. T'Lane and I know lots of recipes now, don't we T'Lane?"

"Yes, well, we do know a lot of them by memory, but that is not the same as actually cooking them. We must practice the dishes we want to serve Lady Amanda, Mrs. Bradford, and Lt. Uhura to see if they taste as delicious as they sound. Don't you think so, Captain?"

"I do," Jim nodded decidedly. "Theory is one thing, but actually doing something is another thing entirely." His hazel eyes met T'Lane's dark ones, and he gave her a slight smile. Best idea Spock had ever had, having T'Lane come to care for Peter, he thought. He must thank Sarek and Amanda in person. At least with T'Lane on hand he didn't have to worry about Peter.

The apartment complex was in sight below, and Jim brought the shuttle down. It was colder now, and Jim was glad of his leather jacket. He had not been wearing his uniform during this mission, not wishing to attract unwanted attention, although Bones and Spock, because they were working at the main SFM hospital had continued to wear theirs. Gavin, too, had not been wearing his, also trying to avoid attracting attention for this particular mission.

Jim keyed in his security code and they went in. The apartment felt cozy and warm compared to the chill outside. "It's a good evening for a fire," he told Peter and T'Lane. "Squirt, you go take a quick shower, get into your pajamas and we'll have time for a game of chess before bedtime. T'Lane, you sit down and relax, you've been on the go all day." Jim lit the fire and went into the kitchen. "T'Lane, do you like popcorn? I'm going to fix some for our chess game, but I'll fix something else for you if you prefer."

"I do not know very much about the popped corn, Captain, but as I understand it is plant derived, I will taste it. While you and Peter are involved in your chess game, I will look up some appropriate recipes to prepare for Dr. Kirk."

"Ma will enjoy whatever you decide on," Jim told her. "My mother is an amazing cook and baker, T'Lane, I'm sure she would be more than happy to share some of her favorite recipes with you,"

A soft gleam of anticipation appeared in T'Lane's eyes. "I would be pleased if your mother would do so, Captain."

Peter came back into the living room in his pajamas and robe, ready for the chess game. Jim brought out the popcorn while Peter set up the chess board. Soon the two were immersed in their chess game, contently munching on the buttered popcorn. T'Lane cautiously tried a kernel, then with more enthusiasm scooped up a handful. Jim glanced out of his huge picture window. The San Francisco Bay Bridge was nearly invisible in the dense fog. Only the red bridge hazard lights shone dimly through the grey, thick, misty tendrils of the fog. After Peter went bed, he would comm to get a debrief from Spock. Jim felt uneasy that Spock hadn't commed with an update yet. This meant that either he hadn't found anything new about the plant DNA or that he had, and was deeply immersed in his research. Jim checked his chronometer. Bones was off duty now, and he must either be at the lab by now, or on his way to pry Spock away from his research. Jim hoped that Spock would not be difficult or in his "highly logical" mode about it, because Bones would be tired, short tempered and highly irate if Spock was uncooperative.


	11. Chapter 11

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 11**

" **You don't have to be invisible to disappear."**

 **Rebecca McNutt**

Jim kissed the sleepy Peter and tucked the covers around him. "I'm glad Noni is coming home tomorrow," Peter murmured sleepily. "I miss her, Uncle Jim."

Jim hugged the child in comfort, his heart twisting painfully. Peter had already lost so much in his young life. Winona was his bastion of safety, the rock solid surety in his small world. He had been badly frightened to find her bleeding and unconscious, but the little boy had kept his head and summoned for help. He was strong and resilient like all the Kirk's were. "I know, Squirt. I miss her too, but she'll be home tomorrow good as new. I'm very proud of how you helped Noni. You did all the right things and thanks to your quick thinking she got fast medical help and she's doing great." He smiled down at the child. "Go to sleep now, and tomorrow will come a lot faster." He tucked the covers around Peter, kissed the sandy head once more, turned off the light, and went back to the living room. As soon as possible, he'd ask Bones to talk to Peter. Bones had been Peter's informal sounding board and counselor since the death of Sam and Aurelan, had been from the beginning, even back on the ship after the fiasco at Deneva had just happened and they were bringing Peter home to Winona. He knew Peter very well. A session with Dr. Bones would reassure both Jim and Winona that the little boy had not suffered any further trauma at finding his grandmother unconscious and bleeding. He looked at his chronometer. Still no word from Spock or Bones. Surely they were back at the house by now. He went in search for his communicator. Bones would say he was acting like a mother hen, but there was no denying that he felt uneasy. Jim had learned down through the years, in fact, since his days as a green Ensign, never to disregard his gut feelings. They had very seldom failed him false or led him astray.

T'Lane was still in the living room looking at recipes on her padd. She saw Jim's frown as he looked for his communicator. "Is something wrong, Captain?"

"Jim, T'Lane, call me Jim," he said absently still looking around. "I'm looking for my comm."

"I believe you took it to the kitchen when you made the popped corn," she said. "I very much enjoyed that corn," she added thoughtfully, looking faintly surprised.

Jim grinned. "We call it popcorn," he told her. "Even though, you're correct, it is popped corn. Vagaries of our English language...and, to my certain knowledge, almost everyone likes it."

She nodded. "Vulcan has such vagaries in our vocabulary also. Although for the most part, it is a very structured and logical language."

"I would expect no less," Jim told her, coming back from the kitchen and waving his comm triumphantly. "Found it, thank you, T'Lane."

He flipped it open and pressed a button. He'd check with Uhura first to see if Spock and Bones had arrived, thus avoiding the "mother hen" accusation from Bones. "Kirk to Uhura."

"Uhura here, Captain."

"Lieutenant, have Bones and Spock gotten back yet?"

"No, Sir, I was about to comm Mr. Spock. I was concerned that something may have happened with Winona, and that's why they hadn't arrived yet."

"My mother is fine, Uhura. In fact she'll be released tomorrow," he added. "I left orders with both Spock and Bones to leave the hospital at the end of Bones' shift. He's very tired, he's been on duty with Ma constantly and he needs to rest. I hope Spock isn't keeping him late waiting for him," he added irritably.

There was silence from Uhura. "Would you like for me to contact Mr. Spock, Captain?"

Jim reined in his temper. Uhura didn't need to hear him grouse about Spock. "No thank you, Uhura. I'll do it. Sorry for disturbing you."

"No bother, Sir. I was getting concerned myself."

"I'll comm Mr. Spock," Jim told her. "Kirk out."

T'Lane sat still listening. "Is something wrong, Cap...Jim?"

"I certainly hope not. Kirk to Spock."

"Spock here, Captain."

"Spock are you still working?"

"Negative, Sir. I am presently waiting for Dr. McCoy. He seems to have been delayed. I hope nothing is wrong with Dr. Kirk, Captain."

Jim frowned. "Spock, when I left Ma she was fine, and Bones was about to log off duty to go to the lab. Tom was going to give her last meds before bedtime. Bones would have commed me if there was something wrong with Ma. Did you try his comm?"

"I did, there was no response."

"Let me try Tom Bradford. Maybe there was another patient that Bones needed to see. I'll get back to you."

"Very well, Captain. I will wait for your update."

Jim inputted Tom's comm number since there was not a direct connection to him as there was to all the _Enterprise_ crew.

"Dr. Bradford here," was the immediate response from Tom.

"Tom, this is Jim. Is Bones with you?"

"With me?" Tom sounded surprised. "I thought he was with Mr. Spock. He left your mother's room before I did, Captain."

A frisson of alarm swept over Jim. "Was he going anywhere else first, Tom?"

"No, he said he was going directly to the lab. Is something wrong, Captain?" There was faint anxiety now in Tom's voice.

"Bones never got to the lab, Tom. Spock's been waiting for him to show up."

"What?" Tom voice was definitely alarmed now. "I don't understand this, Captain. Leonard said he was going to pry Spock away from the lab and then go home. He was very tired and longing for his bed. He said you'd made him promise to get some rest."

"I did. This isn't like Bones, Tom. I'm going to the hospital. Can you meet with Spock and me?"

"Of course, I'm in the Call Room. It's a quiet night; hopefully it'll stay that way."

Jim closed his communicator, then opened it again, his anxiety level rising. He and Spock needed to find where Bones was. After telling Spock to meet him in the Call Room where Tom had to stay, Jim picked up his jacket. "You heard, T'Lane?"

"Yes," she responded her face grave. "The Doctor is missing."

"Yes. I don't like this. It's not like Bones to go off without informing me or Spock. I'm going back to the hospital to see what the hell has happened. Don't open the door to anyone. Tomorrow we'll have a security detail, but there's none tonight."

"I will stay up until you return, Captain. Peter is quite safe with me," she assured him.

"I know he is, T'Lane. I don't really anticipate trouble, but I try to be prepared in case it comes. Just be careful and stay vigilant. I want you safe too, not just Peter."

A faint green flush appeared high on her cheekbones. "I will stay alert, Jim."

Jim went out the door at a fast clip. On his way to the parking garage, he noted that visibility was even worse than it had been earlier. He grimaced. Shuttle sensors would have to be at their maximum, and he wouldn't be able to pilot the shuttle at high speed to get to the hospital. Something was very wrong. Bones wouldn't not show up at the lab, not without notifying Spock that he had to go somewhere else first. He kept a close eye on the sensors, flying the shuttle by instruments alone; in effect he was flying blind. He could see the fog tendrils clinging to the shuttle skin, a ghostly mist, grey, damp and very cold. In all his Academy years and after of living in San Francisco, he had never seen fog this thick, this dense; his sense of foreboding, reflecting the eeriness around him, grew. Where the hell was Bones?

Ahead he could see the red lights of the perimeter of the SFM shuttle parking area. The lights were barely visible, their vivid red dimmed and diffused, but good enough along with his sensors, to bring the shuttle down and park safely. With a sigh of relief, he made his way to the rear entrance. The large double hospital doors were hardly visible unless you were very close to them. The sentry, standing just inside the doors, recognized him. "Good evening, Captain Kirk. Miserable night isn't it?"

Jim glanced at his ID tag and insignia. "Evening, Lt. Jacobi. Yes it is, I've never seen fog this bad before."

"We got an alert from headquarters, Captain. This kind of fog density is unprecedented, they said for us to be extra vigilant. The ER expects many casualties from collision accidents tonight. We've already had a couple, not bad ones, but it's started already."

"Lieutenant, you haven't seen come through here, have you? Taller than I am, brown hair, blue eyes, very slim, southern drawl, wearing his blues with the medical insignia?"

"No, Captain. I know what Dr. McCoy looks like. Most of us recognize all your Command crew," he smiled at Jim. "I came on duty at 2100 hours, took over from Lt. Donato, and he hasn't come through here while I've been on duty. Do you know what time Dr. McCoy went off duty? I could check with Donato for you?"

"I'm not sure, but probably right before you came on, and yes, please check for me." Jim waited impatiently while Lt. Jacobi pulled out his comm to check with his earlier shift counterpart. As Jim expected, he had not seen Bones at all, but, he said, he had left his post for ten minutes to use the facilities, so maybe Dr. McCoy had come by at that time..

After he relayed the information, he looked at Jim's troubled face. "Is something wrong, Captain?"

"I'm not sure, yet. Lieutenant. Dr. McCoy seems to have disappeared; at least we can't get in touch with him. Tell me, are there surveillance cameras in the hospital?"

"Absolutely, Sir. Inside and out. All of SFM is closely monitored. We have a 24 hours surveillance monitoring system manned at all times."

"Good. I may need to see the feeds, but first I'm going to speak with Dr. Tom Jeffries. Where are the Call Rooms and the monitoring room located, Jacobi?"

Jacobi got out his large comm again. "Here, Captain, and here," he said, showing Jim the hospital map. "Let me copy this map to your comm, Sir."

"Thanks, Lieutenant. Keep an eye out for Dr. McCoy, please. Comm me if you spot him," he said, giving Jacobi his comm code.

"Aye, Sir. Will do."

Jim followed the route on his map and went directly to the Call Room to find Tom Jeffries and Spock waiting for him. "Any word from Bones?" He asked them anxiously.

"No, Captain. Nothing."

"After you commed, I took a quick peek in your mother's room," Tom said. "She's sleeping peacefully and according to the night nurse assigned to her, Leonard hasn't been in. The two Security officers on duty haven't seen him either, not since he went off duty."

"I checked corridors and rooms in the vicinity of the lab. Nothing." Spock spoke somberly. It was most unlike the doctor to disappear like this. "I also took the liberty of contacting Lt. Uhura, but she said he has not arrived nor has he commed her. She mentioned that you had already checked with her. She sounded quite concerned. As am I, Jim." Spock's unusual lapse in formality while he was in uniform, on duty, and in front of another officer showed just how perturbed he was. "It is not like the doctor to go anywhere while he is on duty, and most especially, without notifying you. I hope he has not had an accident or fallen ill suddenly."

"I'm very concerned too, Spock, and getting more worried by the minute. Bones doesn't get sick, and we would know by now if he'd had an accident on the premises." Jim turned to Tom. "Lt. Jacobi, the door sentry, told me there are surveillance cameras and a monitoring room. I think we should look at the feeds starting from the time Bones left Ma's room. Maybe we'll find out where he's gone that way. After that, I'm going to contact Gavin." He shook his head. "I don't like this at all." He took out his comm and showed Tom the location of the monitoring room that the sentry had given him. "Do we need permission to access the feeds, Tom and can you go with us"?

"I can go if I'm not away from the Call Room too long, I'll notify the other two doctors on Call. The staff knows to page me if I've stepped out and they need me. You do need permission to see the feeds, but I don't, and I know the monitoring room location already, Jim. All the SFM physicians and the hospital admins have access to the feeds. You never know when one of our patients might decide to go walk about or have an episode. We can track almost everyone in the entire hospital complex through the feeds."

"Good. Let's go then." _Where the hell are you, Bones? You better be all right._ Jim's thoughts were racing, as he tried to contain the worry, frustration, and impatience that were welling up in him and threatening to spill over.

They made their way through the maze of corridors, Jim and Spock following Tom, who did seem to know exactly where he was going. SFM was huge, with many wings, and in spite of his excellent sense of direction, to Jim, all the corridors looked exactly the same, although he knew Spock's eidetic memory would memorize every turn. Tom glanced at Jim. "It's not as confusing as it may seem. Those of us who work here, soon learn all the sections and offices in the hospital. I would feel the same if I was in your enormous ship trying to locate Sick Bay."

They finally arrived at the door plainly marked Surveillance. Tom knocked and entered. There was an outer office simply furnished with a desk, some chairs, a cabinet filled with holovids and an Ensign manning the desk with a large holovid screen in front of him. He stood immediately and saluted. Jim waved him down. "At ease, Ensign."

"Porter, this is Captain James Kirk and Commander Spock."

"Yes, Sir. I recognized them." Ensign Porter seemed a little awed to meet these two well-known heroes of the Fleet and the Federation.

"Their CMO, Dr. Leonard McCoy, seems to have disappeared this evening, Ensign Porter. We are very concerned about him. We need to see the surveillance feeds from 1900 hours on." Tom thought swiftly. "First the feeds from all of section H patient rooms, then all corridors leading to the research labs, all feeds for the outside exits, and finally the parking lot feed."

The Ensign nodded, quickly accessing the mentioned feeds and their times on his desk screen. He looked up and met Jim's questioning look. "The actual monitoring equipment is in the next room, Captain. We have several people on staff at all times who monitor and record all the camera feeds that come in from throughout the complex and parking lot. It's an enormous job, and it takes several people to do it. We also have an Engineer who's always on duty and a backup power source in the unlikely event the power goes out. The hospital Security department is also linked to us in case there's a problem, an altercation, or a patient goes walkabout, which happens more often than you might think. The cameras are on continuously, 24/7, throughout the Medical complex and parking lot, although as you will see, there is no sound on the feeds," he explained. "All right, Dr. Jeffries. Here are all the feeds for the time you specified. Let me get more chairs so the three of you can view them."

The three men sat down, and Ensign Porter helpfully enlarged the feed view as it began to run. They began with the feed from section H and, there suddenly, was his mother's room. "Stay in that area, please, Ensign." Jim ordered.

"Yes Sir." Porter sat back and let the feed run. Jim could see the two security officers on duty, then came the shift change, and the exchange of the duty log as the two night duty officers came on shift. His mother's door opened and Bones came out of the door. The feed showed the time, 1927 hours. "That's three hours ago," Jim murmured.

Bones turned his head to speak to the two officers. He grinned at them, gesturing and obviously wishing them a good night. He began to walk down the hall toward the lab area. "Follow him, Porter, every step of the way."

"Yes, Sir."

Bones kept walking, stopping once very briefly to speak with another doctor, then resumed on his way to the labs area. He walked for a few more minutes then he looked down at his comm. He stopped to flip it open. His face was at a perfect camera angle and Jim could read his lips. "McCoy here," he said. Then his face showed surprise. Jim leaned in his eyes intent on the doctor's face. Who was Bones talking to? They saw him nod, then his lips formed the words, "Okay, Jim," and he closed his communicator.

"Stop the feed for a second, Ensign," Jim ordered, then turned to Spock. "That certainly looked like he was speaking to me, didn't you think so, Spock? Play that section again, Ensign." They watched Bones' lips carefully. They could plainly see him when he said "Okay, Jim."

"I concur, Captain. It does appear that the doctor thought he was speaking to you. Whoever he was speaking to was proficient enough in copying your voice so that it convinced the doctor. Your voice and speech patterns are quite distinctive."

Jim nodded. "So it was someone pretending to be me; someone who mimicked my voice well enough to fool Bones. Damn it! Alright keep going, Ensign. Let's follow the Doctor to see where he goes."

The feed resumed as the cameras followed Leonard away from the lab area. He walked down and turned into a long corridor. "It looks like he's heading to the parking lot exit doors, Captain," Ensign Porter said, adjusting the feed and carefully zooming in on Bones' distinctive gait as he walked to the marked exit. As he exited the building, the camera view changed to an outdoor view. Bones stood just outside the door seemingly waiting for someone. The dense fog had already rolled in, and visibility was already very poor. Leonard reached for his communicator and flipped it open again, listened and nodded, then walked away from the exit doors toward the parking lot. As he walked, the grey fog swirled thickly and ghostly around him, enshrouding him completely, and then lifting a little so they could see him walking. As his slim figure got farther and farther away from the building, the fog seemed to swallow him totally. "Damn It! Zoom in, please Ensign, the fog is obscuring our view," Jim said, never taking his eyes off of Bones' rapidly fading image on the screen.

Porter obediently used the zoom, but Leonard was rapidly disappearing. The fog and his distance from the camera finally obscured him completely.

"I can see if the parking lot cameras caught him, Captain," Porter said, fiddling with the screen. "There he is!"

The three men stared as Bones approached a mist shrouded shuttle. The fog was so thick it was impossible to tell the color and make of the shuttle. The shuttle door opened and Bones got on. The three men looked at the elapsed time on the clock, and after a few seconds, they saw the shuttle rising through the fog. Spock, Tom and Jim sat in complete silence, not moving, their eyes riveted on the screen, waiting, waiting, waiting, but there was nothing more. Leonard was gone.

"They took Bones," Jim said angrily. "Somehow Thoris or Baghdassarian or both of them took Bones. They hacked my comm or they copied my voice and they tricked him and took him."

"But why, Captain?" Spock, mindful of the listening Ensign, was careful not say too much. "The doctor has done no research, has nothing of value for them. He has only been with your mother since we arrived. Also, they must know, because the whole quadrant, indeed all the Federation knows, that Starfleet will not negotiate nor bow down to demands of ransom or extortion."

"I don't know why they took him, Spock...but somehow, and I don't much care how, we have to get him back! I have to comm Commander Bradford now to let him know what's happened." Jim exited the monitoring office to speak with Gavin


	12. Chapter 12

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 12**

" **I don't like being kidnapped. Or manipulated."**

 **Roberta Pearce**

Leonard stepped on board the grey, mist shrouded shuttle and the door closed behind him. "Jim, I thought I was going to..." His eyes widened and he gaped stupidly. There were two men sitting in the front of shuttle, both wearing hooded masks. Obviously he wasn't on board Jim's shuttle. "You're not Jim! What the hell's goin' on here?" He asked angrily.

"Please, calm yourself Dr. McCoy. We needed to have a conversation with you, so we thought this was the best way to assure both privacy and sufficient time for our talk. Fortuitously for us, this fog rolled in and saved us an unnecessary step for securing your time and attention." The male voice that spoke sounded smooth, confident, educated.

"I've got nothin' to say to the likes of you," Leonard retorted angrily. "And I sure don't appreciate the way you went about this. If you wanted to talk to me, an appointment would've been faster, easier...and a lot less dramatic. And I don't know what you could possibly want with me," he paused, "unless someone's hurt or sick. Is that it? If that's it, there's no need for these shenanigans. I'm a doctor I'd never refuse to give medical help to anyone," he huffed angrily at the man. "Now you open that door and let me off this shuttle, and we can talk about it like civilized people."

"No, Doctor McCoy, I'm afraid we are not letting you off this shuttle just yet and no one is hurt or injured," the man added. He was seated next to the pilot and he swiveled his seat to speak with Leonard. "We want to speak to you about an entirely different matter." He gave the pilot a nod and Leonard felt the shuttle lift off smoothly with very little noise.

"Well, if there's nobody sick or injured, that's gonna' be the end of this conversation." Leonard's eyes flashed, his stance belligerent, his jaw jutted out in anger. He held on to the shuttle's bulkhead for dear life as the small ship ascended.

The man ignored his angry outburst. "Calm down, Dr. McCoy. We haven't had our conversation yet." Leonard closed his mouth. "That's better," the hooded man said. "Now then, what I want from you, Doctor McCoy, is quite simple. It's information, just information, that's all I want. If you will turn over to me all the results from your research about a certain plant's DNA, you'll be free to go. I know your research has not yet been completed, but I'll be satisfied with just your current results. Also, I'd like to know if, in your opinion as a researcher, your results on the plant DNA have yielded any promising and possible applications for the humanoid genome. I realize your research time has been limited and your findings may only be preliminary, but I'm prepared to pay you handsomely for whatever you've discovered so far."

Leonard's eyes widened in surprise as the man named an astronomical number of credits which, compared to his modest Starfleet salary, was shockingly huge. "Ah, I see that got your attention, Doctor," he smiled. "Large amounts of credits usually do, and once you've completed all your research and have turned over the rest of your findings to me I will triple that amount. As for your current predicament, when you've given me your findings, you'll be free to go your own way...and, you'll go as a much richer man. I have no desire to hurt you," he continued, "we much prefer to conduct our negotiations in a business like and civilized manner, an exchange of credits for a copy of your results in a data chip, but if necessary, my friend here," he motioned to the pilot, "is well versed in many unpleasant ways of securing information."

Leonard looked at them unbelievingly, then started laughing. He laughed long and hard. So that's who these two fools were. The ones who had broken into Winona's office and shot her, causing her concussion. Well, not for nothing was Leonard McCoy the best poker player on the ship. He'd play dumb and dumber, keep his metaphorical cards close to his chest and not let on he knew who these jackasses were. During the time he'd served under Jim Kirk, Leonard had learned a thing or two from him about bluff, double bluff, misdirection and standing your ground.

At the sound of Leonard's laughter, the man seemed stunned into silence. The pilot, too, turned to stare at him. It was evident, even under their hoods, that Leonard's reaction was totally unexpected as well as bewildering. "I fail to see what you find amusing about your present situation, Dr. McCoy."

Leonard sputtered, as he pretended to contain himself. He realized that his laughter sounded inappropriate and even bordering on mild hysteria to these two men, but he was going for a little drama and he was more than a little puzzled at their making such a colossal error. If he read them right, and Leonard prided himself on being a mighty fine psychologist, they didn't seem like ruthless killers, more like inept and greedy amateurs. He considered that this was the second time they screwed up royally trying to get the plant DNA research. "Wellll," he drawled, "what's amusin' to me is that I have absolutely nothing to do with plant research of any kind, nor have I heard anything about said research. Haven't been near any research lab in a coons age. What I've been doing is treating a patient with a traumatic brain injury. I've been with my patient 16 hours a day since I arrived at Starfleet Medical. Haven't had time for nothin' else, my patient has taken up all my time. In fact, I've barely had time to eat and sleep. Not to put too fine a point on it, gentleman, but the nut in the nutshell is you've kidnapped the wrong man. Oh, and if you don't believe me, you can call the hospital and ask whoever your informant is, to check my hospital schedule from when I arrived to this evening. You'll see that I'm telling you the truth." There was silence from both men as they stared at him.

Leonard snorted. "What? Did your informant tell you it was someone from Starfleet Science who was doing that research you're after? If so, then I'm afraid their description of who you want for was less than complete. Not everyone who wears a blue Starfleet Science uniform works in a lab conducting research. Some of us are in administration, in physical therapy, nursing, technology, research, and some of us are actual Starfleet physicians and surgeons, with patients assigned for us to heal. But all of us? We all wear the exact same blue uniform with black pants, just with different ranks and insignia. Batcha' that informant is long gone now and I'm afraid you gentlemen were taken for a ride, he just told you somethin' you wanted to hear, not actual correct information."

Under his hooded head cover, dark eyes stared at Leonard in confusion and consternation.

"You didn't know that about the uniforms? Well, I guess I can understand why, y'all not being Starfleet yourselves, but what I'm telling you is nothin' but the truth. If you'd looked at the Starfleet data base, you would've found all this out from the recruitment guide on the net, it would've helped you guys do this right." Leonard smirked and he saw the hooded man's eyes darken with anger.

"So what you are telling us, Dr. McCoy, is that someone other than yourself is conducting the plant DNA research? Another person from the Starfleet Science department?"

"I wouldn't know about that," Leonard responded guilelessly, not feeling a bit guilty about his blatant lie. "Starfleet Science is a huge Department, we're stationed all over the damned quadrant so different folks get different orders and assignments. My orders, because I'm one of the finest neurosurgeons in Fleet," he continued, "came straight from Dr. Boyce himself; he's the head of Starfleet Medical. Our ship wasn't that far out from Earth, so I was ordered to come for a consult, then told to stay so I could treat the brain injured officer here at the San Francisco Fleet hospital. Dr. Boyce will move mountains for a Fleet patient in need," he added, "so here I am. Gotta' say, gents, your informant did a damn poor job for the two of you. You were cheated so hope you didn't pay him or her too many credits."

The man waved a negligible hand at him. "It was a lowly hospital clerk," he said, his tone bitter. "He was cheap to bribe, but I don't care about the money, what I cared about was his information."

"Well, you get what you pay for," Leonard responded. "So what happens now?"

"Now we will verify that what you've told us is true."

"You go right ahead, check it all out on your onboard computer...look under Starfleet Science Department personnel, you'll find all our names, species, ranks, and current assignments, it's all public information on the net. You'll see my name right away, listed under Physicians and Surgeons."

Leonard looked around the small shuttle. "Mind if I sit down? I've been on my feet going on...," he looked at his chronometer, "14 hours now and I'm beat." Leonard sat in one of the tiny passenger rear seats, stretching out his long legs. He made sure his body language was relaxed and confident. These two men, he reminded himself, although seemingly inept, were still very dangerous. Remembering what they had done to Jim's mother, he thought that Winona's head injury had been an unintended accident and that this mistake was entirely due to bad Intel and a very obvious lack of actual crime experience.

From what Jim had told him, about the Andorian being a fugitive for hire, his record showed him guilty only of cowardice and petty crimes, not anything worse than that. The other man, Baghdassarian, was obviously the leader of the pair. From what Leonard remembered from Lt. Connolly's Intel, Baghdassarian was used to getting everything he wanted by using his inexhaustible funds, not by doing covertly dangerous, stupid and illegal acts. Leonard sighed silently, thinking hard. Why was Baghdassarian so desperate for the plant DNA? He had more money than he could ever spend even if he lived several lifetimes. At first, Jim's team, including Leonard, thought it was simple greed that drove him, but now Leonard thought there had to be some other reason besides just simple greed and the acquisition of even more money. He set aside these questions for now. _I have to take some time to think more about it_ , Leonard thought, _but for now I have to stay alert, use my wits, and use the brains God gave me to talk my way out of this little contretemps._

He could hear the two men murmuring as Baghdassarian searched the SF public data base on the shuttle computer. While he waited he spared a thought for Jim. By now he'd know Leonard was missing. Spock too. Jim would be worried sick, and madder than a wet hen once he figured out Leonard had been kidnapped. The surveillance systems installed throughout all Fleet hospitals were state of the art. He was sure that by now, Jim and Spock as well as Gavin, had accessed all the camera feeds throughout the hospital looking for him.

Baghdassarian turned in his seat. He stood and walked the few steps toward Leonard leaning in close to check his uniform insignia and rank. "It appears you are telling the truth, Dr. McCoy. You are a physician, a surgeon, not a researcher. What is your current assignment?"

A test, Leonard thought, to see if he would lie. "Currently I'm on assignment on the _USS Enterprise_ as the Chief Medical Officer. Before joining Starfleet, I was a surgeon in a large hospital in Georgia...divorce happened, lost everythin' includin' my little girl, so I got out of Dodge as quick as I could, then joined Starfleet trying to escape the bitter ex-wife. Dr. Boyce asked me to consult on this here head trauma case, so here I am." Leonard knew that most of that information about him was public and would not be hard to access on the net. His divorce and the bitter custody fight had been in all the Georgia news nets, because Jocelyn's family was wealthy and prominent...and because she loved publicity, and had been vindictive and vocal enough to try to destroy his reputation.

Baghdassarian cast a side glance at the pilot and gave a faint nod. "Who is your patient?"

"'Fraid I really can't divulge that to you 'cause of Doctor Patient confidentiality you know, but what I can tell you, is that it was a brain injury, and, just today, the patient has been taken off the critical list, although I still have to monitor the patient closely. Cain't fool around with a brain injury, have to stay right on top of it." Leonard deliberately emphasized his natural speech pattern making his southern accent even softer and more honeyed. Leonard was not prone to false modesty. He knew he was not only a brilliant surgeon, a fully qualified psychologist, and a damn good poker player, but he was also a fully trained Starfleet Officer. Spock and Jim made sure his fighting skills stayed sharp and commensurate with his rank, and that he passed his quarterly fitness assessments with flying colors. Thanks to his grandpa's tutelage, he was a dead shot with his phaser, he was more than adequate, if not great, with his hand to hand combat skills, and his fitness level was excellent thanks to his habit of running or lifting weights with Jim three or four times a week after shift, but these fools didn't have to know any of that. The more innocuous and non-threatening he seemed and sounded, the better for him.

Baghdassarian went back to sit by the pilot. Most probably, Leonard thought, the pilot was the Andorian, his paid minion who had been with him for the break-in at Winona's farm. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, all he could hear was some soft murmuring back and forth between them. He tried to contain his ire and his impatience, keeping his body language relaxed and unconcerned as he waited.

After what seemed like a glacial ice age of discussion between the two men, he saw the pilot nod, and the shuttle began to ascend. Leonard straightened up from his "relaxed" slouch and glanced up at Baghdassarian who had made his way back to Leonard.

"Dr. McCoy, my apologies for interrupting your evening. I'm sure you would like to get back to your bed for some rest. However it's impossible for us to return you to the hospital, there may be Security already looking for you. My colleague and I have made the decision to drop you off somewhere else. This thick fog will hide our landing to let you off.

"Where are you leavin' me? It's damned cold out there so I hope it's not in the middle of nowhere. I'm not as young as I used to be," Leonard responded gruffly

"We're leaving you at The Presidio, Dr. McCoy. It's quite late now, so the park is closed, but there are several sheltered areas. After making sure that the Security patrols are presently patrolling in other areas, we will leave you as close to The Great Pavilion as we can. It is an open building for concerts and events, but it will provide adequate shelter for you until either Park Security makes the rounds or the park reopens in the morning. At that time you can ask someone to assist you, take you where ever you need to go, or summon other transportation. There are always a couple of Park Security personnel that patrol in covered vehicles, but The Presidio is vast so you may not see one for quite some time. I'm afraid I will have to confiscate your comm." He held out his hand, and Leonard had no choice, but to hand it over. "Again, my apologies, Doctor, for this misunderstanding."

"Misunderstandin'? Is that what you call it? I call it a lot more than that, mister, but never you mind, I just want to get out of your damn shuttle and have the two of you out of my sight and hopefully get to my warm bed soon!" Leonard bit his tongue to keep from saying more. He didn't want to make things worse, make this guy mad, and the main thing was for him to get back to the Fleet house to make his report to Jim and Gavin. Jim was goin' to get an earful, that was for sure.

Leonard watched closely as the Andorian made several cross passes then hovered over the area, checking his scanner frequently until he was satisfied. He landed the shuttle in a verge adjacent to The Presidio. The Presidio was only a part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, which was huge. It spread out over miles, with many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas. It overlooked the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Jim's apartment was not that far away as the crow flies, but extremely far by foot. Leonard would have to wait inside The Pavilion until daylight or if he was lucky, run into Security and flag them down.

Baghdassarian opened the shuttle door. "Goodbye, Dr. McCoy."

Leonard stepped out of the shuttle, then turned to watch the door close behind him. The shuttle took off immediately, and in the dense fog, it didn't take long to ascend out of his line of sight. He sighed in relief as it disappeared, then shivered; it was a damp and bitteringly bone chilling cold. He needed to find a sheltered area, his blue uniform shirt wouldn't stave off the dampness and chill for long. Peering through the fog, he carefully made his way to the large building close by. It had to be The Pavilion. It only had half walls and a covered roof, but that would offer some protection from the worst of the damp fog and the accompanying chill. Visibility was very poor as he walked, stepping carefully on the damp, slippery cobbled walkway. At least it wasn't pitch dark, there were dim red safety lights scattered in a row at the top of The Pavilion half wall, but visibility was still very poor.

He went into the building through the open entrance, there was no actual door to the building? He stood still for a few seconds getting his bearings, then he made his way to the first corner he saw. A corner would be the most sheltered spot and Leonard chose the corner closest to the entrance so he could keep an eye out for the Park Security patrol when or if they came this way again. It was definitely less cold in the corner, Leonard thought thankfully. Since there was no help for it, and he was very tired, he sat down on the cold floor and finally thought to check his chronometer again; 2317 hours, it was not as late as he thought. It seemed like a glacial ice age since he'd walked out of the hospital doors and stepped aboard that shuttle. He wondered how long it would be before Security made its rounds again. He squirmed more tightly into the corner trying to get warmer. He'd have to get up and walk around in a little while to keep his circulation going and he was getting mighty hungry. That hamburger and fries in Winona's room had been a long time ago, and he hadn't even finished his meal, thinking he'd have his usual bedtime snack back at the Fleet house. Time crawled by...he was also getting sleepy so Leonard got up from his corner and walked briskly around the perimeter of the Pavilion. The fog seemed to be lessening a little, he thought, peering out at the doorway. He could even see some objects outside of his shelter, a few trees and shrubs as well as the cobbled walk way to The Pavilion. It also seemed to be a bit warmer, for which he was profoundly grateful. There wasn't much fat on his skinny frame to insulate him much.

He went back to his corner and sat down again, dozing fitfully off and on. All of a sudden he heard the muffled sound of an engine. The fog muffled sound, so he couldn't really tell how far away it was, but he got up and went to the entrance of the Pavilion to wait. Yes, it was definitely an engine noise he was hearing. The Security patrol was heading his way. He peered at his chronometer to check the time. He'd been stranded here a little over three hours.

"Halloo." Leonard called out through the fog. "Hello, Security! I need help. Is someone out there?"

"Who's there? Come out so I can see you," the Park Security Officer called out. He got out of the vehicle and shone his strong flash light into The Pavilion as he walked toward Leonard. He kept his light trained on Leonard with one hand, while his other hand hovered over his side arm. Leonard walked slowly into the light, his hands plainly visible, hanging loose at his side. The officer's eyes opened wide when he saw Leonard's Starfleet uniform and the Lieutenant Commander's stripes on his sleeve. "Sir! What in the world are you doing here? Are you alright?"

"I'm Dr. Leonard McCoy, Starfleet Medical. I'm alright, Officer, just damp and chilled. It's a very long story, and I'll tell you about what happened to me, but first could you please place a comm call for me to Captain James T. Kirk of _The Enterprise_? His comm Code is SFCAP 0032245ENT." Leonard shivered. He felt exhausted and chilled to the bone.

The worried officer noticed his shiver. "Of course, Dr. McCoy, but while I place the call, please come and sit with me inside my vehicle...it's a lot warmer, I have a small heater in there and some hot coffee too. It'll warm you up a little."

Leonard did so, and huffed a small sigh of relief when he stepped in and felt the warmth inside the small patrol vehicle. The officer handed him a thermal cup filled with hot coffee and as Leonard sipped the beverage thankfully, he felt the warmth travel all the way down to his toes. "I'm Security Officer Tom Lattimore, Doctor McCoy, are you sure you're alright?" he asked, as he flipped open his communicator to put in Jim's comm code.

Leonard nodded wearily. "I'm okay." Almost instantly, he heard Jim's voice loud and clear. "Kirk here. Who is this?"

"Captain Kirk, this is Security Office Lattimore, of The San Francisco Recreation Area Park Patrol. Sir, I'm based at The Presidio and I have someone here who wants to speak with you." He handed Leonard his communicator.

"Jim, Jim, this is Leonard!"

"Bones, Bones! Are you alright? What happened? Where are you?" Jim's anxious voice was loud and clear.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Jim. Just cold, hungry and very tired. Could you come pick me up as soon as you can? I'm at The Presidio."


	13. Chapter 13

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 13**

" **He was lost and has been found."**

 **Luke 15:32**

Jim spoke rapidly into his comm while Gavin, Spock and Tom, in the Call Room with him, listened avidly. They had been at the hospital searching for Bones and checking all the camera feeds for almost 4 hours with very little to show for their searches. Jim, wracked with worry about Bones' safety, had been about to notify Admiral Nogura about Leonard being taken, when Bones' comm came through. Three pairs of eyes looked at Jim, worry written plainly on two faces and a faint frown of concern on the third. When he closed his communicator, Spock, Gavin and Tom Jeffries looked at him avidly, waiting for him to fill them in.

"Bones says he's alright," Jim told them, with relief evident in his voice, but with still a tinge of worry in his hazel eyes. "He's with Park Security at The Presidio waiting for me to go pick him up. He said he'd tell us everything that's happened once we're there."

"The Presidio! How in the world did he end up there?" Tom Jeffries sounded both relieved and bewildered at the news.

"That is an exceedingly strange occurrence," Spock interjected. He looked troubled at Jim's news.

"We'll get some answers as soon as we see him. I won't comm Admiral Nogura until then," Gavin said, grabbing his fleet jacket. "We can go in my shuttle, Jim. It's bigger."

Jim rubbed at his tired eyes. He felt profound relief that Bones was fine, but he was still worried about him and what had happened to him. He hadn't wanted to question Bones over the comm, he sounded exhausted, his voice strained and a little hoarse. Also the Park Security Officer was apparently sitting right beside him. Their mission was highly classified, so Jim had restrained his impatience, questions, and concern until he could speak to Bones in person.

"Let's go get him, we won't find out anything else sitting here." Jim said impatiently, as he struggled with putting on his jacket. "I need to let Uhura know that Bones is okay, she's very worried. Spock will you let T'Lane know? She was concerned too."

"I'm afraid I can't go with you, Jim," Tom interjected. "I'm on call and can't leave the hospital. If you think Leonard needs any medical attention, bring him directly here to me. I'll treat him myself." Tom gnawed worriedly at his lip thinking of possible injuries. "If he's okay, tell him I'll do the dismissal orders for Winona tomorrow morning. Tell Len, not to worry about it, he needs to rest. I'll take care of everything myself in the morning."

Jim nodded. "Thanks Tom. I might send T'Lane to pick up Ma in the morning. No one knows her face, or for that matter, my mother's. It might be safer than showing my face with my mother at my side."

Tom agreed. "I'll tell the two Security Officers that T'Lane will be here in the morning to take Winona home. They have her I.D. on file from earlier and she's on the approved list to have contact with your mother. I'll comm you in the morning with the dismissal time, but I know it won't be until at least mid-morning. I want your mother to have her morning meds and a good breakfast before leaving the hospital."

"That should work out fine, Tom. I'll let T'Lane know. After we pick up Bones, one of us will update you on his condition. I hope he really is fine, and we don't have to bring him here. I'd like to take him straight to the Fleet house to get some rest. He sounded completely exhausted. Tom, please don't say anything about Bones to Ma in the morning, it will only worry her. If she asks just tell her Bones slept in and he'll see her later at my apartment. Say he was very tired and you were on duty anyway so you offered to do the dismissal orders. I'll tell her about all this once she's at the apartment. Until we know more from Bones about what happened, I'll rather not add to her stress by having her worry about him."

"I'll be careful, Jim. But your mother _will_ ask about Leonard."

"Yeah, she will," Gavin said. "And T'Lane is Vulcan; she'll answer her questions truthfully."

Jim sighed. "Of course she will." He turned to Spock. "Will you speak with her?"

"I will caution her to say as little as possible, Captain. That is the best that I can do. However if Dr. Kirk asks her a direct question, T'Lane will answer truthfully."

"Alright, Spock. There's nothing more to be done about it and that's a problem for tomorrow. Gavin, let's get going," Jim told him impatiently.

Gavin was kind enough to forego pointing out that it was Jim's conversation that was delaying them, but he did do a slight eye roll at Tom who gave him a faint smile. Both of them knew Jim had been very worried about Leonard's disappearance, and that presently he was not quite as his best. Truthfully, they had all been extremely worried, but now the concern had shifted and was more about Leonard's ordeal and his well-being.

As they exited the hospital to the parking area, Jim flipped open his communicator to update Uhura, and Spock did the same with T'Lane. The grey fog was less dense now and visibility was a little better. Gavin got into the pilot's seat with Jim next to him as the copilot. The Presidio was not very far and Leonard, Jim told them, was in the Security Officer's vehicle waiting right outside The Pavilion. He checked the coordinates on his comm and inputted them into the flight computer. San Francisco Traffic Control quickly approved their flight altitude and route. Gavin lifted off quickly and turned the shuttle toward the Bay Bridge and the Presidio. Because Bones sounded so tired, Jim asked Gavin to park the shuttle as close to the Pavilion as possible, that way Bones wouldn't have far to walk.

Inside the shuttle the three men were largely silent. Jim was in deep thought, his tactical mind sorting and discarding ideas and theories. He had many questions and he hopped Bones would be able to provide answers to some of them. One of the biggest was why Bones been targeted in the first place? Why not Spock? After all, Spock was the one who was actually doing the research. Had they been hoping to use Bones as leverage to force Spock to cooperate? Yet, for some reason they had let Bones go; that didn't even make sense. Also, how had they even identified Bones as being connected to the plant research? There were hundreds of doctors, medical personnel, and researchers at SFM. How and why had Bones been singled out? The only logical answer was that there had been a leak, either someone from the hospital, from Gavin's office or from one of Admiral Nogura's most trusted staff. That had happened before, **1** and even though the Admiral had ruthlessly cleaned house, it was still possible that it had happened again. He discounted his own ship's command crew. Although they knew about the plant's DNA, nowhere in the known galaxy was there a more loyal and trustworthy group of officers than his crew.

"Jim, there must have been a leak at the hospital." Gavin gave voice to Jim's own thoughts. "I can vouch for Sonnai's absolute discretion and loyalty, and no one else in my staff had any knowledge of the plants existence. We use compartmentalization protocols for all our highly classified missions. No one knows all the information of any classified mission, only the head of the mission and the head tech officer. The others assigned to a classified mission are on a strict Need To Know protocol."

"It would be logical to assume that the leak came from the hospital, but why they chose the doctor remains to be seen, Captain."

Gavin began his descent through the fog. "There's The Presidio," he pointed. "The Pavilion is just a few klicks to the west of us." He brought the shuttle down lower and the misty shadowy outline of The Pavilion could be seen below.

"There!" Jim exclaimed. "Bring her down, Gavin. Bones said he was close to the main entrance in the Officer's vehicle." As Gavin brought down the shuttle, the grey mist dissipated and they could see the parked vehicle below. Gavin landed the shuttle smoothly, without a bump and Jim was out the shuttle door even before it had fully opened. Gavin and Spock followed, lagging behind Jim, as he was walking so quickly toward the security vehicle.

As Jim approached, the small door on the passenger's side opened and Bones came out. "Bones! Bones!" Jim grabbed him tightly by the shoulders and scanned him quickly. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

Leonard brought his hands up to cover Jim's. "I'm alright, Jim. They didn't hurt me. Left me here in the damp and cold, and these Georgian bones of mine didn't like it much. I feel chilled through and through."

"Here, Bones. Put this on." Jim took off his jacket and draped it over Leonard's shoulders, tucking it closely around him. Leonard sighed happily as the feel of the warmth from Jim's body enveloped him. Jim always ran hot, his body radiated warmth as if inured to the cold after spending so many years in the bitter Iowa winters. Leonard, with so little excess weight on him, and raised in the warm Georgian sun, always felt the cold much more easily.

"You get in the shuttle, Bones, and warm up. I'm going to speak with the security officer for a minute." Jim glanced at the Vulcan, who nodded in understanding. Spock would scrutinize Leonard closely and make absolutely sure he was fine...both mentally and physically.

Leonard nodded wearily, as he accompanied Spock to the shuttle. "You don't have to babysit me, Spock, I'm fine," Jim heard him say, then Spock's reply. "I am not as you say, babysitting you, Doctor. I much prefer to sit with you in the warm shuttle than stand in the damp and chill contributing nothing, while the Captain and Commander Bradford speak to the Security Officer. Also I must let Dr. Jefferies know that you are well and will be going with us to the Fleet house."

Leonard grunted in acquiescence, knowing quite well how much Spock disliked the cold.

Jim and Gavin shook hand with Officer Lattimore who looked wide eyed and star struck at actually meeting the famous Federation and Starfleet Hero, Captain James T. Kirk. He stammered a little during the initial introductions and visibly pulled himself together when Jim asked him for his report.

"I don't know much, Captain. The doctor told me he was dropped off here from a small shuttle by two masked, hooded individuals. He said he was abducted from the hospital parking area. He mistook their shuttle for yours, because the fog was so thick and got on board. The Doctor said he was expecting you to pick him up after shift. They took off with him, and apparently he finally convinced them they had taken the wrong man, and they dropped him off here. He doesn't know what they wanted or their identity either. I came by on my regular patrol and he hailed me. The doctor was very cold from being in The Pavilion, so we sat in my vehicle to warm him up. I gave him hot coffee, he told me what had happened, and then he commed you, Sir. We waited for you, but the doctor is very tired and we didn't talk much more after that. I just let him be." Lattimore drew in a deep breath, relieved his report was finished. "I will have to report this incident to my supervisor, Captain."

"Of course, Officer Lattimore. It's your duty to do so. Commander Bradford and I will try to get to the bottom of this. I won't stand for one of my most valued officers being abducted. We'll get him home and warmed up. Thank you for your help. If your supervisor has any questions, tell him to comm me. You have my comm code in your communicator. I would ask you though, please don't share it with anyone else, Starfleet Captain's comm codes are considered classified information."

Lattimore looked shocked. "Of course not, Captain! And I will delete it after making my report. I realize Starship Captains have to maintain a high level of security at all times."

"We do. Thank you for taking such good care of Dr. McCoy, Officer Lattimore. Not only is he a highly valued member of my crew, but he's a very close personal friend."

"Glad I could be of assistance, Captain. Now I must be on my way, I have to finish up my patrol, and write up my report. Goodnight, Sirs, or should I say good morning," he said pointing up to the lightening sky. He got back in his vehicle and drove off.

"If his supervisor comms I'll talk with him, Jim. It won't be the first time SIS has to concoct a story to protect Intel."

"Thanks, Gavin. Obviously, I'll have to change my comm code since I've been hacked. We need to tell the Admiral that Starfleet's comm codes have been compromised. The encryptions needs to be updated and all new codes issued. Let's go talk to Bones, and then get him home."

Gavin grimaced. Admiral Nogura would not be pleased. It would be a massive undertaking to delete old comm codes, develop new ones and issue them again.

When they returned to the shuttle, Leonard had discarded Jim's jacket and put it in the copilot's seat. He had a warm blanket wrapped around himself and was huddled in his seat. As Jim came on board, he motioned to Spock to change seats so he could sit next to Bones. He grabbed his jacket and settled in the back seat. "We're taking you home, Bones. A hot shower and some food in you and you'll feel a lot better. Your debrief can wait until then. Settle back and relax until we get there."

"I will, Jimmy. It sure feels great to be warm again. I'm beat, cold and hungry, but some food and a hot shower will set me right. I'm a doctor, I'm used to staying up all night, so a couple of hours sleep and a snack will do it. Don't you worry about me."

"Yeah, Bones, but you're not used to being kidnapped and then left outside in a cold deserted place for hours on end." Jim patted him gently. "Now lie back, close your eyes and just rest until we get to the house. Uhura is waiting for us."

Their flight back to the Fleet house was quick. As Gavin parked in front of the house, they saw that all the lights were on. Uhura had obviously heard the shuttle and she was standing at the door waiting for them as they disembarked. She ran down the front walk and hugged Leonard hard. "Thank God you're alright, Len. I was worried sick about you."

Leonard still had the blanket around him, but he reached out a hand to grab hers. "I'm just fine, darlin'. I have a lot to tell y'all, but I'm gonna' get out of these clothes, take a hot shower and put on my flannel pajamas and robe. Then I'm goin' fix myself a hot toddy to ward off a chill and eat somethin'."

"I'll fix it for you, Bones," Jim told him. "I know just how you like them. Did you bring some alcohol?"

"Yeah, you know I always travel with a half bottle of whisky. Mostly for medicinal purposes, really. My daddy always did, so I do too; it's come in handy a few times I can tell you."

"It'll be ready when you're out of the shower and I think we could all use some hot coffee and something to eat."

"Thanks Jimmy. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"How about some scrambled eggs, toast with butter and jam?" Uhura asked. "I can cook us all some, I'm hungry too, I couldn't eat a thing earlier, I was so worried about Leonard."

"Why not," Jim said. "It's not going to be time for breakfast for a few hours yet," he said, looking at his chronometer.

"I'll make the coffee," Gavin said.

Jim started on Bones' hot toddy, finding the half bottle of whisky and rummaging in the small pantry for the honey. "Uhura do you have lemons or should I replicate some juice?"

"We have some, Jim. Lemons are in the cooler. I like lemon with my tea so I ordered some and the honey."

Jim assembled what he needed for the toddy on the counter. Long ago, Bones had taught him how to make toddys just like his daddy had taught him. It was a comfort drink, he'd told Jim, especially after being out in the bitter cold whether of Iowa on home leave, or after an away mission on some God forsaken icy planet.

"A tablespoon of honey, 1/2 oz. lemon juice, cup of very hot water, 1 tea bag to steep, 1 1/2 ounces whisky, stir it all together." Jim muttered to himself, remembering the recipe. He finished it just as Bones came in, freshly showered and in his robe. He looked much better, his dark hair nicely combed, his cheeks rosy from the heat of the shower. His blue eyes looked contentedly at Jim as he handed him the hot toddy.

"Here, Bones. Sit down and drink it up."

Leonard sipped and sighed happily. "It's perfect, thank you, Jim."

"Eggs and toast are ready," Uhura said bringing the pan of eggs and the platter of toast to the table. Gavin poured the coffee and there was an appreciative silence while they all ate hungrily.

Finally, Leonard pushed his plate aside and cradled the hot toddy. "I'm ready for my debrief, Jim. It's short, but tellin'. A more incompetent pair of kidnappers would be hard to find," he snorted.

"Well thank God for that. Go ahead, Bones."

"I got off duty and was on my way to get Spock in the lab, when I got a comm call from you." Jim shook his head vehemently. "I know now it wasn't you, Jim, but it sounded exactly like you. You said you'd came to pick me up, so I thought you'd come for me and Spock because somethin' new had come up."

Gavin grimaced at that. "You had no reason to be suspicious, Leonard. They were clever enough to fool even you with Jim's voice."

Leonard nodded, then continued. "When I stepped outside, the fog was so bad I couldn't hardly see the shuttle, it was totally shrouded in the heavy fog, but I didn't think nothin' about it really. I just wanted to get out of the damp cold so I walked to the shuttle. Really, the whole damn parkin' area was hardly visible. When I stepped inside, the door shut behind me and a voice I didn't recognize spoke to me. It was when the man turned that I saw he had on a hood. I knew immediately that I was in trouble." Leonard then went on to tell them the rest of his story, finally falling silent after he told them about his long wait in The Pavilion and the security Officer finally coming by and helping him. "The rest of it you know," he said, sipping at his hot toddy, waiting for their responses.

"It is fortunate, Leonard, that the informant at SFM was so inept that the information he gave those two was incorrect." Spock looked thoughtful. "It is also obvious that the Andorian and Baghdassarian do not have much experience dealing with either Starfleet or SFM personnel, since they knew so little about personnel assignments and Fleet orders."

"I'll say, All of Baghdassarian's personal and financial dealings have been in the private sector." Gavin reached for his comm. "I'll notify Security at the hospital to track down that clerk. It shouldn't take long to find him. I doubt we'll get much information from him though, the bribe was probably done remotely and anonymously."

Leonard finished his hot toddy and Uhura held up her coffee mug with a questioning eyebrow. Leonard nodded to her absently.

"Jim, I've been thinkin' that there's somethin' not quite right about our theory that it's greed that's driven' Baghdassarian. Now that I've had some personal interaction with the man, I think we're missin' somethin' about him. He's an educated man, and he has more money than God. Somehow I don't think it's just simple greed pushin' him to get the plant DNA."

"What then, Bones?"

"I don't know, not yet. It's somethin' in that profile Sonaii gave us. It's right on the edge of my brain, damn it. I'll figure it out, but right now my brain is too tired to get a handle on it."

"You go on to bed, Bones. Tom is going to take care of Ma's dismissal tomorrow and T'Lane will go pick her up, so you can sleep in." He yawned. "We're all tired and we all need some sleep."

Gavin finished his conversation with hospital Security. "They're on it. They'll find the guy pretty quick I'm sure. I'm also assigning a couple of officers here to the house 24/7 and you'll be escorted to and from the hospital, Mr. Spock. You too Leonard, and Nyota, wherever you go. We'll take no more chances. Jim, you'll have Security for your mother starting tomorrow morning." He looked dubiously at Jim. "I'm a little concerned about Peter too, although I know there's no better protection for him then T'Lane."

"Let me think about that. I'll talk to Ma and T'Lane about it. I just hate to alarm Peter even more after what he's been through." He stood. "Alright people. Let's all get some sleep. Gavin will drop me off at the apartment. Spock, Bones, no going to the lab until you have your Security escort, understood? After I get Ma settled, I'll meet you at the lab."

"Understood, Captain."

"Yeah, okay, Jim. I'm off to bed, I'm dead tired. Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight, Bones."

Uhura looked after him worriedly and Jim noticed.

"I'll have Tom check him out tomorrow morning, Uhura, but I think he's fine, just exhausted. Go on, get to bed and stop worrying."

She smiled ruefully. "Goodnight then. See you in the morning."

"Spock, check to be sure the front doors and the windows are secure after Gavin and I leave."

"Yes, Sir." Spock followed the two men out, then stood at the door, making sure they got safely on board the shuttle. When the shuttle took off, he closed, locked, and carefully checked the front door and all the windows. He did the same with the back door and windows. He turned off the light, walked silently into the bedroom he shared with Leonard and quietly changed into his night clothes. The doctor was already asleep and snoring softly as Spock slipped into his own bed. He closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.

—-

 **1 See "Ring of Treason**


	14. Chapter 14

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 14**

" **A shadow and a threat has been growing in my mind.**

 **Something draws near… I can feel it."**

 **Legolas**

" **The Fellowship of the Ring"**

 **J.J.R. Tolkien**

By the time Gavin dropped Jim off at the apartment it was almost three in the morning. He and Gavin made plans to meet at the Fleet house at 11 am. Gavin told Jim he'd brief Admiral Nogura on everything that had happened to Dr. McCoy when he went in to work, for Jim to get his mom settled, and that there wasn't any real reason to wake the C in C at the crack of dawn. He would also make his report to his chief just to keep him in the loop. Although, for this mission, Gavin and Jim answered directly to Admiral Nogura, Gavin wanted to make sure his boss was kept in the loop as a professional curtesy to the man he thought the world of.

"Thanks, Gavin. I do want to get Ma settled and also fill her in on everything, including what happened to Bones. Peter will feel a lot more relaxed and secure once Ma is at the apartment. T'Lane will be good company for her, because knowing my mother she would soon be bored with doing nothing." After more discussion about the upcoming briefing, Jim said goodbye to Gavin.

He entered the apartment quietly not wanting to wake Peter or T'Lane, but he saw the living room lights were on and that T'Lane was sitting on the sofa with her padd on her lap. He carefully bolted the door and she stood to greet him.

"Captain...Jim. I sent Peter to bed at his usual time. I have kept watch since then. All has been well here. How is the doctor?" She asked, her brow furrowed in concern. She had a great deal of respect for Dr. McCoy.

"Sound asleep in his bed, which is where I hope to be in a few minutes. It's been a very long and eventful evening and I'm beat. You go on to bed now, thank you for keeping watch. We'll talk more after Ma arrives. I'll fill you in at the same time on everything that's happened. I'll put on a holovid for Peter to watch in the library while I tell you what happened to Bones." He yawned. "I'm off to my bed, good night, T'Lane.

Jim took a quick 5 minute sonic shower, put on his sleep pants, set his alarm for 0930 and sighed happily as he slipped under his warm quilt. As was Jim's habit, a habit learned under Bones' tutelage, so he could sleep during stressful times without resorting to a sedative, he set aside his worries and concerns about the mission, turned over on his side and was sleep immediately.

Promptly at the designated time, his comm buzzed; way too early, Jim's body loudly protested. He opened bleary eyes and groaned softly. He would definitely need a hot water shower before he braved the world. His comm pinged with an incoming message from Tom Jeffries. _Jim, I'm writing your mother's dismissal orders within the next half hour. T'Lane can come pick her up in an hour. I'll take care of her morning medications, so no other meds are due until tonight_. _Is Leonard coming in later_?

 _"Thanks, Tom. I'll send T'Lane to you in a half hour. Bones is sleeping in until our briefing at the Fleet house at 11:00. He and Spock will report to the lab after that if you'd like to see him then."_

After a quick shower, Jim headed to the kitchen for his breakfast and to tell T'Lane that Winona was ready to come home. T'Lane and Peter were already sitting at the breakfast table obviously waiting for him. "Morning," Jim said, kissing Peter's sandy hair. Sorrel looked up from his bowl of cat food and meowed a greeting. "Morning, Sorrel." Jim bent down and ran a gentle hand down his silky fur.

"Good morning, Uncle Jim. Coffee is already made for you," Peter grinned, knowing full well how much his uncle needed that first cup of coffee. "Your oatmeal is ready too."

"Thanks, Squirt. T'Lane, Dr. Jeffries just commed that you can go pick up Ma. She'll be ready by the time you get there." Jim took a large sip of his coffee and closed his eyes for a blissful second. "Excellent coffee, you two."

"Thank you, Cap...Jim. I will go for Dr. Kirk immediately. I will return very soon with your Noni, Peter." She told him and hurried off.

"Peter, why don't you do a quick check of the guest bedroom and bathroom. Make sure there's a warm quilt at the foot of the bed for Noni. All the quilts are in the closet if you need one, and put out fresh towels for her bathroom. While you do that, I'll make a couple of comm calls, get them all out of the way before T'Lane comes back with Noni."

"Sure, Uncle Jim." Peter skipped off with Sorrel trotting after him, happy to do something for his grandmother.

Jim opened his communicator, poured himself a second cup of coffee and grabbed his bowl of oatmeal. "Kirk to Spock, come in Spock."

"Spock here. Good morning, Captain."

"Morning, Spock. How is Bones this morning?"

"The Doctor is still asleep, Captain. Lt. Uhura and I are loath to awaken him. However, we will wake him in good time for our meeting at 1100 hours. Is there anything new regarding the fugitives?"

"No, nothing, Spock," Jim said, keeping his voice low and a close watch on the doorway in case Peter came back. "Gavin is giving his report to Admiral Nogura this morning about what happened to Bones. He also told me that besides Thoris' fugitive warrant, a Terran warrant for both men will be issued this morning. Now we are free to alert every law enforcement agency, because kidnapping Bones is a crime that we can work with to widen our search for the two fugitives. We couldn't do it before, except for Jonathon and his deputies, because of the classified nature of the mission. Bones will be happy that one good thing came from his kidnapping. Spock, with everything that's happened with Bones, I never got debrief from you about your research. I'll expect it this morning. Also, now that Ma is dismissed from the hospital, Bones will be able to help you with any further research that needs to be done."

"Very well, Captain. I do have preliminary results that are of great interest."

"Has the Security detail arrived, Spock? Gavin said they'd be there this morning."

"They are here patrolling," Spock responded stiffly. "Captain...Jim, the security detail is..."

"Spock, I know what you're going to say, that the Security detail is unnecessary. Yes, unnecessary for you, because being Vulcan you can defend yourself under any and all circumstances, and while this is true, nevertheless, the security detail will stand." Here, Jim decided, was the best time to live up to his reputation of being the best tactical strategist in the Fleet. Now was the time to play his trump card with Spock. "The Security detail is no reflection on your abilities, Mr. Spock, but you must realize that after what happened last night, Bones' and Uhura's personal safety is of paramount importance to me. They don't have your fighting skills or Vulcan strength." Jim shuddered briefly at the thought of Bones' and Uhura's ire if they ever got wind of Jim's conversation about their lack of fighting skills.

There was a brief considering silence on the other end of the comm. "You raise a valid point, Captain. While I am quite certain of my capabilities to defend myself adequately against one or even two armed opponents, I am not as sure about my ability to defend the three of us from multiple opponents."

Jim grinned to himself. _Gotcha_! He thought. While Spock might be willing to play fast and loose with his own safety, he wouldn't think of doing so with Bones' and Uhura's.

"I'm waiting for T'Lane to get back with Ma, Spock," Jim said into his comm, smiling at Peter who had just come back. "After Peter and I get her settled, I'll leave for our briefing."

"Yes, Sir."

"Kirk out." Jim rinsed his cup and bowl, got Peter settled in the living room with a book, and sat down to sign off on the mountain of reports that he'd neglected since this mission started. His yeoman had prioritized them in order of importance, so he worked quickly and steadily until he heard the front door open.

"Jim, dear, we're here." His mother's smiling face beamed at him from the entryway. Peter jumped up off the sofa and ran into her waiting arms, with Jim following close behind him. He hugged her, took her carry all from T'Lane, all the while scrutinizing her face closely. She smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Jim, really I am, and it feels so good to be out of the hospital."

"It's a big relief to me too, Ma." He herded her gently to her bedroom putting the carry all on the bed. "Peter and T'Lane will help you unpack and get settled. Now, Ma," he said sternly, "please remember what Bones and Tom said, you have to take it easy this week and be sure to finish whatever meds you brought with you. Tom or Bones will come by to check you again at the end of the week. T'Lane and Peter will fix your lunch today, they've been practicing cooking and they're getting quite proficient."

"Really? That's wonderful," said the delighted Winona, already distracted by the idea of cooking with Peter and T'Lane.

"Ma," Jim said despairingly, "please listen, about your meds..."

"Yes, yes, don't worry so much, Jim dear. Tom gave me detailed instructions before I left. Honestly the three of you are like mother hens with just one chick. And speaking of mother hens, where is Leonard? Where was he this morning?"

"I told him to sleep in today." Jim glanced at his chronometer and grimaced. "I'll tell you all about it when I get back or I'll be late for the briefing. Peter, T'Lane, keep a close eye on Ma, she's to rest after lunch. No one goes anywhere today." He kissed his mother lightly on the cheek. "Be good, Dr. Kirk."

T'Lane followed him to the door. "Do not worry, Jim. Security is in place outside, but I will remain vigilant and I will make sure Dr. Kirk rests after lunch."

"Thanks, T'Lane," he said over his shoulder, hurrying out the door.

The Security officers were indeed in place and they saluted Jim as he came out. He returned their salute and paused for a moment. "Stay alert, men, make sure that no one approaches the door unless they're on the list. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Yes, Sir."

The morning was beautifully sunny, crisp and clear, every bit of fog from yesterday and last night burned off. Jim took a few seconds to appreciate the change of weather before he received permission to take off. While he flew, he made a mental list of the points he needed to cover in the briefing. Spock's report on the plant DNA, Bones' take on his two kidnappers, Gavin's debrief with the C in C, and lastly, what the next step should be for this mission. Jim sighed. His mission team had not accomplished as much as he would have liked. Really they were no closer now in apprehending Thoris and Edward Baghdassarian than they had been right after the farmhouse break in. While in some ways the two fugitives had proved to be inept, they had still been able to elude SIS, the Andorian Government Police, Jonathon and his deputies, and the Presidio Park Security. Baghdassarian had unlimited financial resources, so it was very possible that he had a hidden safe house somewhere, well away from populated areas. It was proving very difficult to find them.

He also made a mental note to give Jonathon an update as well as get an update from him about the farm, Mr. Thompson's well-being, and the welfare of the animals. His mother would want to know.

Jim parked his shuttle in front of the Fleet house and saw that Gavin's shuttle was already there. He was relieved to see two Security officers in place by the front door. They saluted him as he came up the walk

"Gentlemen? Everything quiet?"

"Aye, Sir. Commander Bradford is inside."

"Thank you. Stay sharp." Jim glanced around the quiet street, nothing moved and there was no air or land traffic. He opened the door and saw his team waiting for him in the living room. Gavin stood up and grabbed another chair. "Hey, Jim. Got your mom settled at the apartment?"

"Yes, left her in good spirits. Security is at the door," Jim told them, sitting down. "How are you feeling, Bones?"

"I'm fine, Jim. That hot toddy fixed me right up and I got a good 5 hours of sleep. Done with a lot less many a time."

"Glad to hear it. I was worried about you, Bones." Jim drew in a relieved breath, his gaze warm on Bones' face. "Let's get started, shall we? Spock, let's begin the briefing with you. How is the research going?"

Spock steepled his fingers and Leonard sighed silently. Steepled fingers always meant a Spock lecture, but mindful of Jim's past injunctions to "work well with others", he vowed to be patient. "As we all know DNA is a thread-like chain of nucleotides carrying the genetic instructions of all known living carbon based organisms and many humanoid viruses. DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) alongside proteins, lipids, and complex carbohydrates are essential for all known forms of life. Most DNA molecules consist of a pair of molecules that are held tightly together and coiled around each other to form the double helix with which we are all familiar. However, as I have discovered, the plant DNA is not a double helix at all, rather the DNA is encased in the chromosomes within a single helix.

An important property of DNA is that it can replicate, or make copies of itself. Each strand of the DNA in the double helix can serve as a pattern for replicating, or making copies of itself. This is critical when cells divide because each new replicated cell needs to have the exact copy of the DNA that's present in the old cell.

When DNA is copied this is called DNA replication, when DNA is copied _incorrectly_ , this is called a mutation. There are three types of mutations: _Deletion_ , where one or more bases are left out. _Substitution_ , where one or more bases are substituted for another base in the sequence. _Insertion_ , where one or more extra bases are put in.

I have been conducting experiments with the chromosomes within the single helix whereby I try to insert the single helix chromosome into the double helix one. I have been, without exception, unsuccessful. Today, I will attempt a substitution mutation protocol, inserting the single helix chromosome as a substitute for the double. I am not sanguine about the success of the attempt. I anticipate that by tomorrow I will have a definite answer for you, Captain. A deletion mutation will not be a viable choice for further research in this instance, I can not remove a base when it is a single helix." **1**

Jim raised a questioning eyebrow at Bones. "Thank you, Mr. Spock for your cogent and clear summary. Bones, your take on what Spock's discovered?"

Leonard looked thoughtful. "What Spock's findings probably mean in layman's terms, is that it may not be possible to modify the plant DNA to work with humanoid DNA at all. As a researcher, Spock is as good as they come..."

"Why thank you, Doctor."

"...but I'm pretty damn good myself, so I'll double check his findings this afternoon." Leonard continued, ignoring the interruption. "However, I have no doubt his findings are correct."

Gavin looked less grim at hearing Bones' assessment of Spock's research. "That's good news, isn't it ?"

"It is in the long run, of course it is, Gavin. No one wants that kind of knowledge and the power that goes with it let loose on an unsuspecting galaxy."

"But...?"

"In the short run, Jim, I had hoped Spock might find other uses for the plant besides its "almost immortality" DNA. You know, that we've found many such in our Away Missions and I'd hate to give up further research on this plant because we're afraid of its genetic makeup right now. It still might be possible to find something medically useful about it if we're able to do further research on it, not just focusing on its longevity DNA."

"I must admit the doctor makes an excellent point, Captain." Spock looked at Leonard, a faint look of surprise showing in his dark eyes.

"Don't agree with me, Spock, it makes me very uncomfortable," Leonard retorted.

"Gentlemen..." Jim said warningly. "That's a problem for another day, but I confess to being relieved about your preliminary research, Spock."

"Gavin?"

"I spoke with the C in C early this morning." He glanced at Leonard. "He was both shocked and furious about what happened to you, Len. I updated him on our heightened security on you, Lt. Uhura, and Spock, and of course our continued security on Dr. Kirk. I didn't update him on your research yet, Spock, but I will later today. He too, will be relieved. The Admiral also ordered me to use all of Star Fleet's resources to find Thoris and Baghdassarian. As he put it, no stone is to be left unturned until we find them."

"And we will find them," Jim said firmly. "Uhura?"

"Sonaii and I have discovered a couple of things, Captain. You could say it's negative information, but it's good information nevertheless. We scoured the Universal Wide Net for any gossip or new information about the biggest, most prestigious and important pharmaceutical companies that could offer Baghdassarian's company competition. We found nothing, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, no rumors, no big changes in sales or in their stock holdings, no threats of bankruptcy, no dramatic plans for expansion. All these companies seem stable and solid, including Baghdassrian's. There were also no rumors about the immortality plant's DNA anywhere on the web, not even underground whispers or black market scuttlebutt."

"Are you absolutely sure, Uhura?

"Yes, Sir. Sonaii is the best, and I double checked the web myself a second time, just to be doubly sure."

"Good work, Lieutenant. Bones? Are you up to repeating your story for Spock and Uhura?"

" 'Course I am." Leonard started his tale and told them everything that had happened to him from the minute he stepped out of the hospital until Jim and Gavin picked him up. Spock and Uhura listened intently. "Thank goodness they didn't hurt you, Len," Uhura breathed. "It could have ended much worse."

"Indeed," Spock said. "That would have been most unfortunate, Doctor."

Leonard opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment about Spock's warmth and caring, but catching Jim's quelling eye, he closed it again.

"Bones, when we were in the shuttle bringing you home, you said that you thought there was something more behind Baghdassarian's search for the plant DNA than mere greed."

"Yeah, Jim. Now that I've had some limited interaction with the man, I just feel there's something else at work here besides greed. I've been thinkin' about it since you brought me home, and I've arrived at a tentative theory for a whole different motivation."

"Go ahead with your theory, Bones, I..."

Suddenly. Gavin's comm beeped and he glanced at it. "Sorry, Leonard. Have to take this. Commander Bradford here."

The group could hear a voice speaking rapidly. They watched Gavin's eyes widen, then he frowned. "Alright, Thomas. Thanks, and good work on this Intel. Bradford out."

He closed his comm and saw 4 pair of eyes staring at him. "There's been a new development," he told them. Apparently sometime this morning, Thoris, our fugitive Andorian was apprehended by the Andorian Government Police. Lt. Thomas, one of my team members, has a contact who reported that Thoris was arrested very early this morning. He's already on his way back to Andor for trial and punishment."

"Sooo," Leonard drawled, "questioning him about my kidnapping or about anythin' else will be mighty difficult won't it."

 **—-**

 **1 Some real and some totally made up Science here, people.**


	15. Chapter 15

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 15**

" **We who are immortal, we are chained to this life by a chain of gold,**

 **and we dare not sever it for fear of what lies beyond the drop."**

 **Cassandra Clare**

" **Clockwork Prince"**

Jim looked at Gavin, dismay in his hazel eyes. "Damn it, Gavin! How did Thoris manage to slip through our fingers, but the Andorian Government Police managed to find and pick him up?"

"I don't know, Jim." Gavin ran his hand down his face in frustration. "We were at a huge disadvantage relying only on our SIS operatives and Jonathon's small deputy force to find Thoris. The Andorian Government Police has been tracking him for a long time. Either they got lucky, or he was careless. I'm really sorry, Jim."

Jim sighed. "Not your fault, Gavin. We were constrained by the nature of this mission. What we have to do now is to figure out a way to question him. I'm willing to go to Andor to do it, if the Andorian Government Police will agree to it. You know how insular and testy Andorians are, and they're generally uncooperative unless forced into cooperation by Fleet or the Federation Council. We might have to go through diplomatic channels or maybe even through Admiral Nogura to get permission." He turned to Spock. "Do you think Sarek would assist us on this one, Spock? I hate to ask it of him," Jim said hesitantly, "but it may be the only way for us to get to Thoris to question him."

Spock did not sigh in exasperation, but it was close. He knew that Sarek would not be pleased to be asked for assistance. His past experiences with Andorians on the Federation Council had generally been rife with difficulties. Spock recalled their ill-fated Journey to Babel and the debacle with the Andorians on that mission. "Captain, your request would compel me to brief Sarek of the importance of questioning Thoris by telling him about our mission parameters. Otherwise, knowing my father's past history with Andorians, I am certain he would refuse."

Jim nodded his agreement. "Sarek's security clearance is almost as high as the C in C himself, Spock, so I have no problem with adding him to the Need to Know list for this mission. Surely after he realizes the probable ramifications of Baghdassarian acquiring knowledge about the plant, Sarek would want to help. I realize that your preliminary research may prove conclusively the plant's DNA's inability to combine with the human genome, but right now no one has that information but us, and I feel sure Baghdassarian will proceed with his plans to acquire it whether you find the DNA is worthless or not."

"I agree with Jim, Spock. Your research findings and conclusions about the plant's inability to combine with humanoid DNA may be moot. Baghdassarian will certainly not believe it, he'll think your research conclusions are a bunch of lies, or that we want to keep the research findings for ourselves, or that we'll sell it to the highest bidder, or whatever his imagination comes up with. It appears to me that he's completely obsessed with the idea that the plant will give him the immortality he wants so desperately," Leonard mused. "Others across the quadrant will be too, that's a huge carrot to be dangling at the end of a stick."

"An apt metaphor, Doctor." Spock said, "and most illogical."

"Yeah, well, Vulcans may not be gullible, but humans certainly are. Throughout history there've been many humans who've become obsessed with similar myths. The Fountain of Youth story, for example; it's a spring that supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across Earth for hundreds of years, appearing in writings as far back as the 5th century Old Era. Hundreds of people have searched for it down through the ages and may still be looking for it, for all I know. There are other similar myths out there. I think Baghdassarian's in the throes of some such obsession."

Uhura spoke for the first time. "Captain, now that Thoris has been arrested, Baghdassarian may get even more aggressive about acquiring the plant research."

"I agree with your assessment, Lieutenant," Jim said. There was a moment of silence as they all considered Uhura's statement.

"He'll replace Thoris with someone else right away, that's for sure," Gavin mused. "He's not going to continue searching on his own. He certainly won't do the dirty work by himself and his new hire may turn out to be much worse than Thoris, smarter, more ruthless, and less inept. Thoris may have been cheap to hire, like that hospital clerk was, but that Andorian was not the brightest star in the firmament. I don't think anyone's going to be safe until we put an end to this."

"That's why we have to question him, Gavin. Find out where Baghdassarian hides, what's driving him to these extremes. I agree with Bones that it may be something else besides greed." He turned to Spock. "When do you think you can you speak with Sarek, Spock?"

Spock repressed the all too human urge to bite his lip in vexation. "Although my parents were here in San Francisco, unfortunately they had to return to Vulcan for a short time to attend a Vulcan Council meeting, Captain. It will take some time for me to contact him, even if I request that my comm call to Vulcan be listed as a priority on the communication arrays."

Gavin leaned forward, bringing out his comm again. "Let me speak to Admiral Nogura, about Thoris, Spock. I feel sure we can get priority comm access to Ambassador Sarek through the C in C's array. He has direct access to all members on the Federation Council."

"That would facilitate and speed up the situation considerably, Commander."

"Let me go into the other room in case he wants to yell at me for Thoris slipping through our fingers." Gavin didn't look too perturbed about the possibility as he went into one of the bedrooms. The Admiral might be angry, but he was a reasonable man, and he knew that Gavin's team had been constrained by secrecy and lack of additional manpower.

Leonard shifted restlessly in his seat as they waited. Even though he would review Spock's research, he had no doubt about his findings. Give the devil his due; there was no one better than Spock at research. As CSO of the _Enterprise_ , his scientific experience was vast, his methods meticulous, his conclusions always accurate. But scientific research had to be rigorous, and Leonard would double check to make sure of all his findings. If Jim was going to Andor to question Thoris, it was imperative that Spock's research be verified as quickly as possible.

Jim glanced at Bones. The doctor's unusual silence finally catching his attention. "Bones? What are you thinking? Are you feeling alright, not too tired?" Jim asked gently, the worry Leonard had seen last night coming back into the hazel eyes.

"No, no, Jim, I'm fine, stop worryin' about me. Just thinkin'." Leonard put a reassuring hand to the strong, broad shoulder and patted him. "As soon as Gavin comes back, I want to tell you about what I believe is Baghdassarian's true motivation. Mind you, this is just a theory, Jim, but it makes sense to me."

"Alright, Bones, we're anxious to hear, but if you feel tired, I want you to get right back in your bed."

Bones nodded, not bothering to argue. Sometimes Jim was as big a worry wart as Leonard himself. They sat waiting for Gavin with varying degrees of patience, Jim being the most impatient as was his nature. Leonard almost smiled to see how twitchy Jim was, tapping his booted foot and drumming his fingers on the table as they waited for Gavin to come back.

They all looked up as Gavin came back, a faint smile on his face. "The C in C was just a bit irate that Thoris slipped through our fingers, but I think it helped that I made no excuses. He said he understood the constraints that we've been under. He asked that you speak to your father first, Spock. Diplomatic channels are better under the circumstances, and although the Andorian Government is cranky under the best of circumstances, and their police department even more so, they do hold Sarek in very high esteem and are more likely to be cooperative if he makes the request. However the Admiral did say he would step in if Sarek was unsuccessful. Apparently, something went down on Andor some time ago and the Admiral says "they owe him" but he is reluctant to cash in on the favor until it's absolutely necessary. And yes, he said he'll gladly give you access to his direct comm line from his office to Sarek."

Jim grinned. The C in C was always inscrutable, always played his cards close to his chest, and he was a canny and experienced negotiator. He couldn't have risen up the ranks of Fleet to become C in C otherwise. Lyrics to an ancient ballad that Jim loved always came to mind when he had any interactions with Nogura. " _You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run. You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done_."

"Alright, Mr. Spock," Jim told him now. "I think that's your cue to contact Ambassador Sarek. But first before you and Gavin go to Nogura's office, I want to hear what Bones has to say about Baghdassarian's motivations. Go on, Bones," Jim urged him gently.

"Okay, now mind you, I'ma comin' at this from my limited observations and interactions with the man on the shuttle, and from interpretin' the dossier Sonaii and Uhura compiled on him from a behavioral and psychological point of view." Leonard steepled his fingers and then hastily unsteepled them, realizing he was copying Spock's mannerism. He cleared his throat and began. "Baghdassarian is a highly educated man, a brilliant medical researcher, has more money than he could spend if he lived several life times, is obsessive and intensely focused no matter the goal he's set for himself, and is so driven that he built Centauri Pharmaceuticals from nothin' to a mega corporation in a relatively short time and at a very young age."

"We know all this, Doctor. Please proceed with your theory."

"Settle down, hobgoblin. We all listened to your long winded monotone explanation of the plant DNA, now it's my turn."

"Gentlemen," Jim warned irately. "Go on, Bones," he prodded, glaring at Spock.

Leonard continued. "My thoughts then turned to the information that Sonaii and Uhura discovered about his family. He pulled out his padd and read from the report:

" _He trusts no one except his immediate family, and he dotes on his parents, sisters, nephews and nieces. He has put money in trust for the children's education and provided generously for his parents and siblings, but while he has built homes for them close to his own home, he does not indulge them financially otherwise. In spite of his seemingly conservative personality, his profile indicates that he is a risk taker, not afraid to take chances if he has to, and that he has a ruthless streak when there is a goal he wants to attain. He lets no obstacle stand in his way. He is not married, nor does he have a partner. The women he has dated have been educated, beautiful, and established in their own careers, but no serious relationship has ever developed from any of his liaisons. His home and his headquarters are located on Solano, where he grew up; built on an extensive piece of property next door to his parents. His home is large, but not ostentatious, and he employs a cleaning service, but no house keeper; when he is in residence, his mother provides all his meals and his father keeps his calendar, answers all his personal mail and all requests for speaking engagements."_

Leonard looked up at the four pairs of eyes riveted on him. "What I think is that Baghdassarian is not goin' after the longevity DNA for his company to sell and make even more money for himself. He wants that DNA for his immediate family, for himself too, of course, but that's only a secondary motivation for him. He doesn't want any of them, especially his parents, to die and leave him alone. Remember that he trusts no one except for his immediate family, that they all still live real close to him, and that everything of a personal nature goes through his mama and daddy and to some extent his sisters and their families too. Come on, people, he's a grown man and his mama still fixes his meals and his daddy opens, reads and answers all his personal mail. So it's not that he's obsessed with livin' forever, it's that he's obsessed with all of them living forever _with_ him and since he's a big risk taker and ruthless to boot when he wants somethin', he's decided to do whatever it takes for him to get the plant research for him and his family."

There was a shocked silence after Leonard finished.

"But...that's crazy, Bones!"

"Yeah, Jim, it is. The man is terrified of his family dying and him being left alone to deal with people he can't ever trust. Crazy yes, but real sad too." His blue eyes were somber. "Those kinds of obsession takes years to develop, build and grow. Remember he was the baby of his family, and because he's brilliant, he was probably doted on, indulged, and cosseted by his parents and his older girl siblings. Although he's still a fairly young man, he _is_ the youngest of four, and his parents must be gettin' up in years now, so he's startin' to get desperate to keep them. When somehow he got wind of the plants longevity properties, he saw it as a means to keep his parents and siblings and their families with him practically forever."

"If your theory is correct, Doctor, I find it illogical in the extreme for a man who is as educated and brilliant as Baghdassarian to harbor such plans."

"We're talking feelings and emotions here, Spock, obsessive feelings and emotions, not logic. No use you're tryin' to understand it."

"I do not," Spock said bluntly and somewhat haughtily.

Jim, knowing that Spock's tone would rile Bones, deflected the burgeoning argument with a question. "So do you feel pretty confident about Baghdassarian's motivation, Bones?"

"As sure as I can be without a full psych evaluation on him, which I cain't do unless we arrest him first, and it don't look like it's happening any time soon."

"To that end, Spock, why don't you and Gavin adjourn to Admiral Nogura's Office to make that comm call to Ambassador Sarek. The sooner your father can work his magic and secure permission for us to question Thoris, the sooner we can find Baghdassarian."

Gavin agreed. "Shall we go, Mr. Spock? Jim, we'll be as quick as we can and we'll come back here. Considering the possible ramifications of Thoris' arrest, and the possibility of new players in the mix, I think it's safer if everyone stays put here with Security outside until we get back."

Jim frowned, bit his lip in annoyance, but acquiesced with as good grace as he could muster his shoulders stiff and tense. "Yeah, alright, Gavin," he muttered.

 _Brave, strong, self-sacrificing, sometimes reckless Jim,_ Leonard thought, meeting Uhura's knowing gaze. As long as the doctor had known him, Jim has hated to be away from the action, always preferring doing over waiting most of the time, but now in his third year as Captain, after way too many close calls and too much time spent in Sick Bay, he'd learned to contain that recklessness to something his command crew could at least live with,

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Gavin told them.

Jim nodded watching them go, then stood and began to pace. Leonard and Uhura sat silently watching him, until Uhura meeting Leonard's eyes again stood up. "Why don't we fix lunch while we're waiting," Uhura suggested. "I don't know about you two, but I'm hungry and breakfast was a long time ago."

Leonard stood too. "Now that you mention it, Nyota darlin', I am gettin' kinda hungry. Let's go see what's in the kitchen. Come on, Jim, you can help too. There's no use your pacin' up and down just twiddlin' your thumbs until those two get back." He scowled at Jim.

Jim gave him his sweetest and sunniest smile. He could always read Bones like a book. Bones was trying to distract him while they waited for Sarek's verdict. "I'm coming, Bones. I'm hungry too. Let's be sure we make enough of whatever we're going to cook for Spock and Gavin. I'm sure they'll want lunch too."

Already rummaging in the cooling unit and pantry, Uhura was handing Bones ingredients and muttering to herself.

"What did you have in mind to cook, Ny?" Jim asked.

"A white bean chili...it's your mom's recipe, Jim, she gave it to me at Christmas and it's something Spock can eat too."

"Then for sure it'll be good," Leonard said. "There's no better cook than Winona."

The onions, carrots and celery were soon on the cutting board being chopped by Jim and Leonard and then put in a large pot. Bones batted an indignant Jim's hand away from the pot, and stirred the vegetables by himself until they were tender. "Okay, the veggies are ready." Nyota quickly added the cannellini beans, the kale, quinoa, spices, and vegetable broth, covered it, set it to simmer, and soon a delicious smell wafted from the stove.

"Smells great," Jim sniffed. "Why don't we have some coffee while we wait and I want to comm T'Lane to check on Ma. Hope she's resting this afternoon," he told Leonard, his eyes reflecting doubt. "Tom told her she had to take it easy this week, but you know how Ma is," he added ruefully, walking to the living room to speak with T'Lane.

"I know all too well, Jim." Leonard called out to the treating back. Jim came by being a difficult, stubborn patient honestly. It had taken Tom and Leonard as well as the duty nurses to keep Winona in bed. "Well if anyone can get Winona to rest, it'd be T'Lane," he muttered to Nyota.

After a brief conversation with T'Lane, Jim came back into the kitchen, a look of bemusement on his face. "Ma had a good lunch, and she _is_ resting. T'Lane said she convinced her that it was the logical thing to do to regain her optimum health. Sounds just like Spock, doesn't it?"

Leonard sputtered, and Uhura laughed softly.

"If you ask me, it sounds like all the Vulcans we've ever met," Leonard said dryly. "Foods ready. Let's eat 'cause I'm starvin'.

They sat down with bowls of the savory chili, accompanied by some warm buttered bread and more coffee. They ate in companionable silence. "This is really good, Nyota," Jim said.

"All of your mother's recipes are good, Jim. I've sent some to my own mother. The family has loved them all."

"Ma will be happy to hear that."

They were cleaning up when they heard the front door open and the sound of booted feet. Jim stood. "It's Gavin and Spock."

Gavin had a big smile on his face while Spock's face held a look of satisfaction. "Captain. After I briefed my Father about our mission, he agreed to your request with surprising equanimity, and will undertake the task of speaking with the Chief of the Andorian Government Police. Knowing Sarek and his logical and persuasive abilities, I have no doubt he will be successful. He will notify us as soon as he has a positive answer from the Chief."

Jim sighed with relief. "Gavin, we'll take the _Enterprise_ to Andor...and at maximum warp," he added. "The sooner we can get there, the sooner we'll have some answers."

"Sit down you two. Eat. It'll be a while 'fore we hear from your daddy, Spock."

"I don't think my father would respond to "daddy", Doctor. It would undoubtedly offend his dignity. The proper Vulcan word for father is sa-mekh."

"Papa, Daddy, pops, dad, father, sa-mekh...whatever. Sit. Eat." Bones glared fiercely as Spock visibly winced at his bad Vulcan pronunciation.

A laughing Jim pulled out chairs for them and they sat down to eat.


	16. Chapter 16

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 16**

" **There are always answers.**

 **We just have to be smart enough."**

 **John Green**

" **Looking For Alaska** "

Jim waited until Gavin and Spock finished eating before speaking. "As soon as we hear from Sarek with permission to question Thoris, we'll finalize our plans. Meanwhile I need to speak with Scotty to ready the ship for travel to Andor. Spock, Bones, I want you to get back to the lab and resume the research. The more we know about the plant DNA, the better. I doubt if Thoris knows anything about it, Baghdassarian wouldn't trust him with that kind of important Intel, but it's better to be prepared." He glanced at Gavin with an unvoiced question in his eyes. Gavin nodded. "Spock, Bones, you'll be accompanied by Security at all times." Jim saw the immediate protest flare in Spock's dark eyes before it was dimmed as he remembered his agreement with Jim.

"Uhura, I'm heading back to my apartment. Would you like to come visit Ma? I don't think there's anything else left for you to do here and I'd feel more comfortable if you weren't left alone. The two security officers are going with Spock and Bones. Afterward, you can beam back to the ship unless something else happens that I'll need you to do here."

"I'd very much like to see Winona, Jim, especially since I didn't get to visit her in the hospital."

"Good. She'll be very happy to see you, Nyota."

"Since I'll be going back to the ship afterward, let me pack my few things, and I'll be with you in a minute." She hurried off to her room.

"Jim, I have to get back to my office to update my chief and Admiral Corrigan that I'll be going with you to Andor, and I have to let Violet know too," Gavin said. "Spock, I'll order Security to accompany you and Leonard in your shuttle. They'll stay with you at all times. In the hospital they'll be stationed right outside the lab door."

"Very well, Commander." Spock looked at Leonard. "Are you ready to go, Doctor?"

"Yeah, hobgoblin, I'm ready. I'll see you later, Jim. I hope to get by to visit your Ma this evening. Want to give her a quick check. If I cain't get away, I'll send Tom."

"I'll tell her, Bones. Anyway, I doubt we'll leave for Andor until tomorrow morning. I'm afraid you'll have to leave your research, because I want you to be present when Gavin and I question Thoris. I need a good fast and dirty psych evaluation on him."

Leonard groaned in protest. "Jim, a thorough psych eval can't be done by the seat of your pants. It's a slow, deliberate examination and I'm not sure I can get you a valid eval without giving him additional tests...it'll be mostly observation and answers to any questions I can manage to ask him."

"I know, Bones. It's a lot to ask, but just do the best you can. It's not absolutely crucial, he was only a hired thug, and I know he probably can't shed much light on Baghdassarian's behavior, but it still might be helpful."

Leonard sighed. "All right, Jim. I'll do the best I can in the time we have with him."

"You always do, Bones." Jim smiled affectionately at him.

Uhura came back, duffle in hand. "I'm ready, Jim." She looked around. "If I've forgotten anything, please pick it up for me, Len, Mr. Spock."

"Of course, Lieutenant."

"Be glad to, darlin. Anyway, we'll see you later."

"Alright, let's get this show on the road," Jim said. Uhura followed him to his shuttle and they waited until first Gavin's, then Spock's shuttle took off with Bones and the security officers. While they waited he commed T'Lane to let her know that Uhura was coming to visit his mother, and for her to let Winona and Peter know. Jim gave Uhura a warm smile as he closed his comm. "Ma will be happy to see you, Ny." He ran his hand down his face and sighed. "She's going to want to go home soon, and she just can't. I can't risk it until we arrest Baghdassarian. She's going to argue with me, Nyota, tell me that she's a Star Fleet Officer, that she's completely capable of protecting herself and Peter, that Jonathon and his deputies are patrolling, that she has work to do, that she'll engage the Security shields at the house, that Baghdassarian won't try anything twice, all mostly true of course."

"But you're still going to say no." Uhura looked at him knowingly.

"Yeah, and she's going to be upset it's me," Jim said ruefully.

"You're going about this all wrong, Jim. You let me talk to her, and I guarantee that Winona will stay with you without a murmur."

Jim looked at her, first in surprise, then hopefully. She nodded. "I know she'll change her mind if I speak with her about it."

"Well then," Jim told her smiling in relief. "I'll leave it in your capable hands." He started the shuttle and, after their short flight, landed in the apartment parking lot.

At the door to his apartment, Jim saluted the two Security officers who eyed Uhura carefully and checked her off on their padds. "Report."

"All quiet, Captain. We've kept a close eye on the comings and goings of the other residents, there has been some curiosity among them. A couple of residents asked if things were alright with you and was there any cause for concern. Merrill here just told them everything was fine, that we were on Security detail for a visiting VIP for a few days. I made sure to check them all out, verified their identities with the residents' list and photos you gave us. No one has gone in or out of your apartment since this morning when your mother arrived with Miss T'Lane."

"Good. Thank you, Lieutenants. Stay alert." He keyed in his door code, and as he and Uhura went in, a small whirlwind grabbed him around the waist. "Uncle Jim! You're home! You've been gone a long time," said the reproachful Peter, clinging to him. "Noni's been good, though," he grinned up at Jim. "She ate real well at lunch. T'Lane and I cooked for her, then she's been resting after lunch," he reported.

Jim hugged the little boy to him. "Thank you for your report, Ensign Kirk, that's very good to hear," he teased. "Now say hello to Miss Nyota, she came to visit us until this evening."

"Hi Miss Nyota," Peter gave her a big grin and an affectionate hug. They were good friends these two, and they corresponded regularly on the ship. Peter enjoyed exchanging letters with all the Command crew and, of course, with his adored Mr. Spock and Dr. Bones. The crew had gotten to know and love the little boy from his time spent on the ship on their way back to Earth after the tragedy on Deneva. Jim was often by turn bemused, touched, and grateful when one or another of the command crew shared Peter's letters with him.

"Ma," he called, "Uhura's here."

"Oh, how lovely," Winona said, hurrying out of the kitchen.

"I'm so happy to see you looking so well, Winona," Uhura commented, hugging her tightly, and arm in arm they made their way to the living room.

"I feel fine, Nyota, and my memory is coming back slowly but surely. I have to rest and follow orders for the rest of the week though. Then maybe Peter and I can head back to the farm."

Uhura's eyes met Jim's. His prediction had been right on the money, Jim knew his mother very well indeed.

"Ma, Bones is coming this evening to check you out. Let's see what he says, "Jim responded cautiously.

T'Lane came in from her bedroom and greeted Uhura sedately. "Lieutenant Uhura, it is gratifying to see you again. Captain...Jim, now that you are here, I think it is the optimum time for me to leave in order to buy the food items that we will need for the rest of the week. I have ordered everything by comm, but thought it best to pick up the items rather than have them delivered."

"Good idea, T'Lane. You go ahead. Just notify Security where you're going for your shopping and what time you'll return." He handed her his credit chip.

"Peter, why don't you take Sorrel to your bedroom to watch a holovid. I left several for you on top of the dresser. I need to speak with Noni and Miss Uhura and it's an adult only conversation. I'll call you when you can join us again."

"Alright, Uncle Jim. Come on Sorrel," he said happily, picking up the cat. Peter's screen time was severely limited, so the chance to watch a complete holovid in one sitting was not to be sneezed at.

While Jim was busy with T'Lane and Peter, Uhura had been speaking softly to Winona as they walked in to Jim's study. "You know, Win, after you hear what Jim has to tell you, I hope you'll change your mind about going back to the farm. He would worry so much about you and Peter that it would hinder him from completing his mission. I know you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Ny! Of course not! I would never to do anything that would worry Jim so much that he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his mission."

Uhura nodded, her lovely face solemn. "I know you wouldn't, Win, but that's what would happen if you and Peter were alone at the farmhouse. Your injury really upset him."

Jim came in, closing the study door behind him. "Please, both of you sit down. Ma, I want to tell you everything that's happened since you were admitted to the hospital, and you'll understand why I don't want you and Peter to go back to the farm just yet. Ny, I also want to tell Ma what you and Sonaii found out about Baghdassarian's background."

Jim sat at his desk chair thinking how best to tell his mother everything that had happened since her injury and close those gaps in her memory. He decided that the only way to go about it was to start at the beginning and go on from there. "Thanks to you remembering that it was an Andorian who stunned you, Ma, we've found out a lot since you've been in the hospital." Jim went on to tell her about the Intel Uhura and Sonaii had found about both Thoris and Baghdassarian, about Thoris being a fugitive from Andor, about the team's frustration over his subsequent arrest, about Baghdassarian's personal profile and Bones' theory about why he wanted the plant DNA, and then, to Winona's profound horror and shock, Jim told her about Leonard's kidnapping, their frantic search for him and finally about their recovering him at The Presidio.

"Jim! Is Leonard alright? Did those men hurt him?"

"Bones is fine," Jim hastened to reassure her. "He was cold, hungry, and very tired, but a good sleep set him right. Right now he's at the lab going over Spock's research."

Winona shook her head. "Baghdassarian is crazy, Jim. Leonard is quite right. That kind of obsession begins to consume a person, makes them single minded, very dangerous and ruthless." Her hazel eyes met Uhura's and Winona gave her a faint nod. She would no longer worry Jim by insisting on going home. "So Thoris has been arrested," she said in satisfaction. "I certainly hope that besides their own charges, the Andorian authorities will also charge him with shooting me."

"I'll make sure that they add breaking and entering, attempted theft, and shooting a Federation citizen to the charges already levied against him."

"You're going to Andor, son?"

"As soon as we get the okay from Sarek. I haven't told you about that yet."

Winona gave a faint laugh. "It seems I missed a lot while I was in the hospital."

"Yeah, well it was the best place for you and you certainly were in no shape to be bombarded with all this information. But now you are," he smiled at the skeptical look on his mother's face. He proceeded to tell her about asking Sarek to get clearance from Andor so he and Gavin could question Thoris.

"Spock told us Sarek agreed about the importance of questioning Thoris, but I'm sure he wasn't thrilled at having to ask permission from the Andorian Ambassador or the Andorian Ruling Council. Unfortunately, Sarek had to return to Vulcan for a Council meeting, so he couldn't speak face to face with the Andorian Ambassador here in San Francisco."

Winona sighed. "I've dealt with the auspicious body of Andorian Xenobiologists several times in my career, Jim. They've been without exception recalcitrant, suspicious, difficult and generally uncooperative. However, I have no doubt that Sarek will get the permission you need. He'll convince them of the necessity and logic of your questioning Thoris?"

"I hope so, Ma. If not, Admiral Nogura will have to intervene, and he was hoping to go through diplomatic channels rather than through Starfleet."

"How much will Sarek share with the Andorian authorities?"

"Sarek is aware that the plant DNA research is highly classified, so he'll only address the break-in at the farmhouse, your being shot by Thoris, and Bones' kidnapping." He looked at his chronometer. "I haven't received a comm from Spock with permission from the Andor Government yet, but since I haven't heard anything negative, I feel sure Sarek is still negotiating. So that's where we are now."

Winona nodded. "I'm sure you and your team will find and arrest Baghdassarian, sweetheart. Whether that DNA will even be possible for human genetic manipulation or not, it's still best to end all this as soon as possible. Wars have been started for less." She smiled at them. "Why don't we go back to the living room? T'Lane should be coming back soon, and we'll decide what to have for dinner." She turned to Uhura. "I hope you'll stay for dinner, Nyota. We haven't had a chance to visit yet and we can cook and chat this evening."

"If the Captain says it's fine and he doesn't have anything more for me to do, I'd love to stay, Win."

"There's no reason you can't stay, Nyota. You can beam back to the ship during Beta shift. Scotty is taking turns on the transporter with De Salle and I'll let him know." Jim was already flipping open his comm to notify the ship. It would be good for his mother to have different company this evening, he thought. Bones had told him that she might suffer from some mild depression as a result of the concussion, and since Winona loved company and cooking, having Uhura here would go a long way to distract her.

T'Lane had indeed returned with the groceries and Peter was called back to the living room from his holovid. The three ladies were soon happily immersed in recipe hunting. Jim looked at Peter and they smiled at each other. "How about a game of chess, Squirt, while the three ladies decide what we're going to eat?"

They set up the chess board in their usual place by the big bay window. The lights of the San Francisco Bay Bridge were starting to come on even though it was still midafternoon. There was fog rolling in, and the beautiful, clear day was as if it had never been, all the sunlight would soon be obscured by the dense fog. As they played, Jim was happy to note that Peter's chess game had improved quite a bit under Spock's expert tutelage. Peter and Spock always had a chess game going, playing by exchanging letter transmissions. Peter also told Jim that he now played with a couple of kids from school too.

"That's great, Squirt. Chess is a game that you can enjoy your whole life, I'm happy you've found other kids who enjoy..." Jim was interrupted by the door chime. He knew Security was on duty, so it had to be someone on the allowed list.

Jim opened the door to find Bones at the door. "Hey, Bones." He stuck his head out the door. "Where's Spock?"

"He stayed at the lab. One of the security officers gave me a ride then went right back. The other one stayed with Spock. He's in the middle of an experiment that couldn't be interrupted." He rolled his eyes. "There wasn't anythin' at all for me to do so I came on to see Winona. I finished double checkin' all Spock's findings. Jim. All absolutely correct, just as I thought."

"Any word from Sarek?" Jim pulled Leonard into the entryway and took his jacket.

"Nothin' yet. Spock'll comm as soon as he hears. Said he and the security officers will come here as soon as he's done."

"Good. Let's go in the kitchen. Ma is in heaven, cooking with Uhura, T'Lane and Peter. She'll be glad to see you, Bones."

"Be good to see her too, Jimmy. How's she doin'?"

"She looks and sounds fine, anxious to get back to the farm, but I think Uhura took care of that. Ma was worried about what happened to you, Bones. Shocked and worried."

"Nothin' to worry about. I'm back to normal. I'll have to pull her away from her cookin' to give her a few checks, eyes, balance, etc. Won't take long."

"Hope you can stay for dinner. You know how Ma loves company. Ma," he called. "Bones is here."

"Cain't pass up a chance to eat Winona's cookin'." Leonard's face lit up with anticipation.

Winona came flying out of the kitchen. "Leonard." She gave him a tight hug. "Thank goodness you're alright, that those men didn't hurt you. I was shocked when Jim told me what happened."

Leonard patted her back. "I'm just fine, Win. But I'm here to check on you. Shall we go in the study? There's just a couple of quick assessments I want to give you. How's your memory?" He asked leading her to Jim's study.

"It seems like it's coming back...in little bits and pieces," Jim heard her say.

Jim gave a sigh of relief and went to the kitchen to tell them there'd be one more for dinner, and maybe Spock too, if he remembered to eat. "Something sure smells good in here," he sniffed.

"We're having green chili and onion enchiladas, Uncle Jim," Peter said. "It's one of Noni's recipes."

"And a fruit salad with sweet yogurt dressing," added T'Lane.

"And sweet tea because of Leonard," Uhura grinned at him.

Jim laughed. "He'll like that; he'll like all of it. He loves Ma's cooking. I'll set the table with an extra place just in case Spock shows up later with the results of his experiment." He cast a meaningful glance at Peter. "I also hope he's heard from Sarek."

There was a pleasant contented silence in the kitchen as they all worked on getting ready for dinner. Winona and Leonard walked in and Jim turned to Bones, a question in his eyes.

"She's doing great, Jim. Passed all her exams with flying colors. You can relax now."

"That's great, Ma." He hugged her and gave her an affectionate peck on her soft cheek, smelling the heliotrope scent she always favored that took him immediately back to his childhood days. "Don't be scaring me like that again, young lady."

"I won't if you won't," his mother told him poking him playfully in the ribs.

"Ouch, woman. That finger is lethal!"

"Everything's ready," Nyota announced. "Let's sit down and eat. Len, I'm glad you're here," she smiled at her favorite doctor.

"Wouldn't miss it."

Dinner conversation was pleasant and general, the adults, mindful of Peter's presence, keeping to lighthearted topics. Jim told Winona that Jonathon had commed earlier. Mr. Thompson had reported that Ginger, Dapple and the chickens were doing fine and to give Winona his best, for her not to worry about a thing on the farm. Jonathon also said that the Salvatore's, Serena, and Father Joe had been asking about her on a daily basis, and added that his officers were patrolling the farm twice daily to be sure all was well.

Winona's lovely face lit up with pleasure. "How nice of all of them. I'll comm everyone tomorrow to tell them I'm doing well and that I'll be staying a few more days to visit with you, Jim."

"That's great, Ma. You know how much I love to have you and Peter here." He cast a grateful glance at Uhura.

The doorbell chimed just as they were cleaning up. Jim opened it to find Spock standing at the door with the four security officers flanking him, the two guarding Jim's apartment, and the two assigned to the Fleet house guard duty.

"Spock, come in." He turned to Spock's two Security escorts. "Lieutenants, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy will return to the Fleet house later this evening. Why don't you take an hour break, get something to eat, and report back here at 2200. They'll be ready to leave by then."

"Aye, Sir. Thank you."

Jim led Spock into the living room. "Spock we left dinner for you," Jim told him.

"Thank you, Sir. I am quite hungry, I skipped lunch. I now have a report for you."

At that, Winona turned to Peter. "Peter, it's your bed time. Say goodnight to Mr. Spock and to everyone else too."

After Winona had taken the little boy out of the room, Spock sat down at the table to eat. "I heard from my father just before I left the lab, Captain. After much deliberation and insistence from my father, the Andorian authorities have given us permission to question Thoris. He is being detained in Laibok, the Capital city of Andor.

"I hate that planet," Leonard complained loudly. "Everything's underground because the damned planet is covered in ice. Feels like all that ice above you is gonna' fall on top of you."

"A highly illogical premise, Doctor. Andorian cities have been built underground for millennia in order to take advantage of the geothermal energy underground. It is a highly efficient system that uses no outside energy source to power their cities. One hundred percent clean energy at no cost to the populace of Andor. Would that other planets did as well."

Yes, well," Jim interrupted Spock's lecture that could go on at length, "be that as it may. Be ready to leave at 0600. We'll beam up to the ship at that time. I'll comm Gavin so he can be ready. He can also let Admirals Nogura and Corrigan know that tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to question Thoris."


	17. Chapter 17

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 17**

 **"The truth, as always, will be far stranger."**

 **Arthur C. Clarke**

Jim woke up before his comm alarm rang. It was very early, 0500. His ship was scheduled to depart from The San Francisco Space Dock promptly at 0600. Gavin was due here at the apartment any minute. They would breakfast here and then take Jim's shuttle to the ship. In spite of Bones' hatred of transporters, Spock and Bones would beam directly to the ship from the Fleet house. Spock would take with him a data chip copy from the lab with all his research on the plant DNA and down load it to the ship's main frame computer to run the data one more time. There was no better computer system in all the Federation than a Constitution Starship computer. Many, many lives depended on those computers, so Fleet spared no expense in installing them and upgrading them constantly.

He took a quick sonic shower and put on his Captain's uniform, tugging down his gold tunic. He frowned, then sighed. It felt a little tight and if he had gained any weight at all, Bones was going to be on him again to lose weight and put him on a diet. Maybe, he thought hopefully, the tunic had just shrunken. They weren't made of the toughest material, and ripped easily and they did shrink in the laundry. He made his way quietly to the kitchen so he could cook breakfast and to his surprise found his mother already there at the stove.

"Ma! What are you doing up? It's way too early."

She turned to smile at her handsome son. "Good morning, dear. I thought I'd cook breakfast for you and Gavin."

"Ma!" Jim kissed her soft cheek. "I appreciate it, but you're supposed to be resting," he said in reproach.

"Jim Kirk, as if I'd let you and Gavin go off into the frozen wilds of Andor without a good hearty breakfast."

Jim laughed. "Andor is hardly wild, Ma. Its civilization is millennia old."

"Maybe so, dear, but it's not exactly a hospitable place," she shivered dramatically, "and who knows what kind of food they'll offer you while you're down planet or even if they'll offer you anything at all."

Jim laughed and went to answer the door which had just chimed softly. Jim brought Gavin into the kitchen. "Ma is making us breakfast, Gavin, she insisted."

"Well, I'm not going to say no to one of Winona's breakfasts," Gavin grinned at the woman who had become like a second mother to him. Gavin only had a brother left of his immediate family, and his brother was far away working in deep Space 9, so they seldom saw each other. Since his almost fatal injury in New York City during one of his most dangerous missions when Winona had come to his assistance **, 1** Gavin had become part of the Kirk family.

"Sit down, both of you. Everything is ready." She set down two warmed plates of scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, fried tomatoes, fresh hot biscuits with butter, and hot coffee. Jim and Gavin wasted no time in eating the delicious food.

"Delicious." Jim stood up, wiping his mouth. "Thanks, Ma, but we gotta run. Say goodbye to Peter and T'Lane for me. Please stay in the apartment until I get back so I don't worry about you."

"I will dear," Winona said, giving them both an impartial kiss on their cheeks at the door. "Be careful, both of you. Andor is not one of those balmy beach planets."

"Keep a sharp eye on things, Gentlemen," Jim told the two security officers as they walked out the door. "Commander Bradford has left Lt. Sonaii Connolly in charge while we're gone. You have his comm code if anything comes up. Don't hesitate to comm him if you need to."

"Aye, Sir. Don't worry; we'll take good care of your family, Captain."

Gavin piloted his shuttle straight to the moored Enterprise. The large bay doors opened and he landed the small ship smoothly. When the green light flashed showing that it was safe to disembark, both men exited the shuttle. Spock was waiting for them behind the transparent shuttle bay office window.

"Greetings, Captain, Commander. We're ready to depart, Sir. Lt. Sulu estimates we will arrive at the Procyon binary star system in 5 hours at warp 4. It will take an additional hour to travel at sub light speed to Andor, the eighth planet of the star system. As you know, Captain, the government of Andor does not allow warp speed once a ship is within its star system."

Jim sighed. "I do know, Mr. Spock. They really don't like visitors much, do they. Please prepare a short briefing in an hour about Andor for those of us who will be beaming down. It's best to remind ourselves of all the important nuances of Andorian society and its rules. They are a testy race after all and we don't want to cause offense if we can avoid it."

"Yes, Sir. I am very unsure of Dr. McCoy's knowledge regarding the Andorian species, aside from his medical expertise about them, of course. And Andorians are not the only ones who are, as you say, testy."

Jim gave him a tight smile. "Just don't let Bones hear you say that. You'll have the con while we're down planet, Mr. Spock. Keep a very close eye on all the sensors, our bio monitors, and our comm feeds. Also, I want you to include Lt. Uhura in the briefing; she'll accompany us down planet. I'm not sure if Thoris will be cooperative, and she's an expert on the body language of many species, including Andorians.

"Yes, Sir."

The three men made their way to the lift. "Gavin, I'd like you on the bridge with me for the rest of our flight to Andor. I hope the Andorians won't mind that there will be four of us interrogating Thoris," he added, looking with doubtful eyes at Gavin.

"They won't care, Jim. Now that they have Thoris in custody for fleeing the The Ushaan Right of Substitution, it matters little to them what happens to him. Any other charges thrown at him will be icing on the cake for the Andorian authorities."

When Jim stepped onto the bridge, Lt. Sulu slid smoothly out of the command chair to resume his station. "Steady as she goes, Mr. Sulu. Mr. Chekov, our ETA to the Epsilon Indi system?"

"ETA is 1245 hours for our Andor orbit, Keptin."

Jim toggled his chair comm. "Scotty, how are the engines? It'll have to be warp 4 all the way to Andor."

"Dinnae' worry yourself, Captain. They're purring like kittens." Jim's eyes met Spock's across the bridge distance to the Science station and he grinned. Spock shook his head slightly, always bemused by Scotty's imprecise description of the state of the warp engines, yet Jim knew Spock had the highest respect for their genius CE.

Jim called down to Sick Bay to tell Bones to report for the briefing and the four of them met at the door of his Ready Room. They opened their padds to take notes as Spock stood in front of the lit giant screen in front of the conference table.

"As we all know, Andor is a class M planet that is located relatively close to the Sol system. It is an ice world; 85 percent of the planet's water is ice, with a human breathable oxygen nitrogen atmosphere. Its population is, at its last census, 38.2 billion. Andor's inhabitants predominantly reside on only two of the equatorial continents, Kathela and Viral, which are linked by a mountainous isthmus."

The large screen changed from Andor's geophysical display to pictures of its cities. "Andorian cities are all underground and connect to each other by thousands of tunnels crisscrossing the two main continents. Captain, when you and the others beam down to the central beam in facility, you will be taken directly to Laikan, the capital city, through the tunnels by an ice cutter vehicles.

I have been notified by the authorities, that Thoris is housed inside the Laikan main prison as is befitting the severity of his crime. The main prison is guarded by the elite Imperial Guard and not by the Andorian Government Police. The AGP's primary purpose is to seek out and apprehend criminals, not to guard them once apprehended." Spock looked somberly at his four colleagues. "I urge you to be very careful when you are around the Imperial Guard Officers. It is considered a great honor to serve in the Imperial Guard. It greatly enhances their own and their families' social standing and reputation in Andorian society. Therefore, Guard Officers are prone to take slights of any kind very seriously. As a whole, Guard Officers deplore dishonesty and cowardice, hence be prepared to see Thoris looking less than healthy." He glanced at Leonard. "I cannot stress enough, Doctor, that you do not engage in any dialog with any Guard about the state of Thoris' health or well-being no matter what you see. It would be considered a horrendous insult to the Guard. They are, within their own society and mores, highly honorable beings, but they are also deeply emotional, passionate, and even violent. If you question their methods or try to interfere it might be cause for your immediate arrest and incarceration, Doctor."

Leonard's face flushed and took on a stubborn cast. "Jim, I cain't just sit there if Thoris is in bad shape, it goes against my oaths not to help him." He turned worried blue eyes to his Captain.

Jim's lips thinned and his face hardened as he looked at the doctor. "Bones, you will adhere to the standard Star Fleet and Federation diplomatic agreement of non-interference in any cultural or religious mores, unless specifically asked to do so by someone in authority. Is that understood?"

Leonard looked mulish for a minute, then sighed. He knew Jim would leave him behind on the ship if he didn't agree.

"Bones, do you understand?" Jim asked him sternly.

"Yeah, Jim. I understand. I'll do what you say."

Jim nodded, and placed a consoling warm hand on Bones' arm. He knew it went against Bones' deepest convictions, not to help when someone was in pain or injured. "Go on, Mr. Spock."

"There is not much more. Of the further crimes that Thoris committed on Earth, the farm house break in, the hospital clerk bribe, and Dr. McCoy's kidnapping, the most heinous and dishonorable one, is the shooting of your mother, Captain. Andorian females of all 4 Andorian clans are held in very high esteem due to their society's very low birth rate. Also because of their low birth rate, Andorian's practice polygamy, and their marriage rites require groups of four. By extension of this belief, all females including those of other species enjoy the same esteem. The usual punishment for injuring or killing a female who is already a mother or about to become a mother is death."

Uhura gasped in shock. Very very few Federation worlds still had the death penalty.

Spock nodded somberly. "It is not for us to judge their society, Lieutenant, but I find my logic severely challenged to find any justification for this. Dr. Kirk's attack with Thoris' phaser, Captain, since she is your mother, would fall under this criteria, should you make known to them what Thoris did to her." There was silence from the group as they contemplated the consequences of making this known to the Andorian authorities.

"Let me continue." Spock said. "Andorians are not very hospitable to off worlders, which in the past has caused some friction with other Federation worlds. There are some, but not many visitors or tourists to Andor, although local city governments are now trying to attract tourists to their many points of interest and beauty, such as The Andorian Art Academy, the Atkin Zoological Park, the Grand Staircase made entirely of ice, the Great Rift Range, and of course, other places of interest in Laikan itself, like the Plaza of Freedom. However tourist initiatives have proven to be less than successful thus far, due to the Andorians lack of civility with tourists. That is all I have for you, Captain. Now Lt. Uhura will give us some cultural and body language caveats."

Uhura smiled. "I'll just sit here, Captain, if you don't mind. I don't have too much to add to Mr. Spock's briefing."

"That's fine. Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"Thank you, Sir. First, and most important for us, is the Andorian's antennae. It's quite remarkable, really. The antennae are used for quadriscopic vision reception, for focused hearing, for balancing and, most important for our purposes, for gesturing. The antennae shift subtly, working almost like a sixth sense, and it's postulated by Federation Xenobiologists, though not confirmed by Andorians, that they act almost like a sixth sense to tell an Andorian if someone is not being forthright or if they're practicing deception. The antennae also convey anger when they come up and flare back and when an Andorian is curious about something they come forward. When they want to express thanks or gratitude, they make a heart-shaped position where the tops come in and touch each other. Captain, I've placed pictures in all your comms of the more common and basic forms of antennae expressions."

Uhura looked up. "I can't emphasize this enough. When we're speaking with them, don't look at their arms and hands for body language clues, look at their antennae. The gestures they show with the antenna are similar to what we humanoids do with our arms and hands The antennae are so important to Andorians, that if for some reason, they break or are cut off, they will completely grow back after nine months, although with electrical and brisk cranial stimulation, which medical practitioners have perfected, it takes about half the time. Another important body language point for us to remember is that because of the sensitivity of their antennae, Andorians listen with their heads down and tilted to the side, so don't expect a lot of eye contact from them. It's not avoidance, or that they're hiding something, it's a purely genetic and physical manifestation of their biology. Also their voices are soft; to us it will sound like they're whispering, so in comparison, we're quite loud, so let's all try to speak more softly. Andorians all speak Standard, so there'll be no need for the universal translator." She looked up from her notes. "I think that's about it from me, Captain."

Jim stood. "Very comprehensive, thank you Spock, Lieutenant. Any questions, Bones, Gavin? No, well then, this concludes our briefing. Remember we will have to dress warmly, preferably in layers. Stores has been notified and have replicated proper apparel for us. We'll be beaming to the surface of the planet and it'll be damn cold until we get underground. All right, people, everyone is dismissed until Stores calls me. Bones, if you would stay for a minute, please."

After the door to the briefing room closed, Jim sat down next to Leonard. "Bones, will you be okay to beam down and confront one of the guys who kidnapped you? Do you think you will be able to evaluate him clinically and remain calm and professional in spite of what he did to you?"

Leonard didn't answer immediately. He leaned back in his chair taking the time to frame his answer honestly. "Yeah, Jim, I think it'll be fine. It'd be different if they'd hurt me, but they didn't. I wouldn't put this mission in danger if I thought I wasn't mentally fit to see Thoris. Mind you, I don't say it'll be easy not to get angry and confront him about what he did, but I promise you, I'll stay professional and not open my big mouth. I'll be the doctor you need me to be." He looked his assurance into the kind hazel eyes and the gentle encouraging smile.

Jim covered his cold hand with his own warm one. "Alright, Bones. I thought you'd be fine, but I wanted to make sure you'd be okay to see him again. I really didn't want to question Thoris without you there. Your input will be invaluable."

Leonard smiled. "'Appreciate you looking out for me, Jimmy, and I'll do the best I can."

"Okay then, Doctor," Jim stood, "let's go mind the store."

Once back on the bridge, there was nothing to do but wait. Stores called up to the bridge to notify the Captain that their cold weather gear was being replicated. Gavin and Jim put their heads together to draw up the questions they wanted to ask Thoris. Chief among them was to find out where Thoris and Baghdassarian stayed hidden while on Earth. Leonard felt that Baghdassarian probably had more than one safe house, possibly another one built for his parents to use when they traveled to Earth. Gavin wanted to ask Thoris why the two had targeted Winona's house. Who had leaked the information about the plant and that Winona had the research? Did Thoris know what Baghdassarian was really looking for? They continued to jot down possible questions until Jim looked at the chronometer. "Let's finish these notes in the Captain's mess. I want us to grab an early lunch, get something to eat before leaving the ship. Breakfast was very early this morning. I doubt the Andorians will offer us anything to eat and we may not get back to the ship until late tonight."

"Yeah, and our brains will work better if we're not hungry," Leonard said. "We'll need all our wits about us down there. We're not exactly honored guests."

"I'm with you on that one, Len," Uhura agreed.

They went to the Captain's mess and ordered a light meal. The conversation turned to other topics, lighthearted ones, as they all tried to relax in preparation for the difficult confrontation with Thoris. Jim hoped that this was not a wasted trip, that Thoris would be willing to tell them more about Baghdassarian, his whereabouts, his state of mind, and anything else they could pry out of him. Jim knew that the Andorian police were not aware of Thoris' other crimes, the break in to the farm house and the subsequent shooting of his mother, bribing the hospital clerk, and kidnapping Bones'. Jim was willing to negotiate with Thoris for information, keeping these charges in abeyance for leverage; most especially his mother's shooting which would cost him his life. Stores commed Jim while they were eating to notify him that their clothes were ready.

"Lt. Sulu to Captain Kirk." Jim's comm squawked again.

"Kirk here, Lieutenant."

"Captain, we've reached the outermost edge of the Procyon binary star system. ETA for Andor is 52 minutes at sublight speed."

"Thank you. We'll go directly to Stores, get outfitted, and head for the transporter room. Mr. Spock?"

"Spock here, Captain."

"You'll have the con. Keep a close eye on our bio signals. Dr. McCoy has already activated the subcutaneous bio monitors. Also, notify Andor Space Central of our ETA for our stationary orbit around the planet. Tell them Mr. De Salle will let them know when we're ready for beam down."

"Yes, Sir."

The four took the lift down to the bowels of the ship to Stores. Stores was an extremely vital department for any Star Fleet ship. All uniforms, First Contact mission apparel, cabin, kitchen and Sick Bay linens, blankets, towels, etc. were ordered, procured or fabricated by this very large department. Lt. Commander Toriano was in charge and he ran a very tight ship. Not even a kitchen towel went unaccounted for by his department. Toriano was a genial, happy, man of Italian decent. He loved to sing Italian arias and love songs while he worked and he had a beautiful tenor voice. Many an _Enterprise_ party had been enlivened by his singing. His staff adored him and would do anything he asked no matter how difficult the task.

"Captain," he beamed. "Always a pleasure to see you down here."

"Angelo," Jim smiled back. He and Toriano were the same age and had been at The Academy together. When Jim became Captain, he had recruited Toriano from his dirtside posting at Starfleet Headquarters. Toriano had leaped at the chance to work on a Constitution Starship.

"What do you have for us, Angelo?"

"We replicated outerwear and insulating inner wear good for temperatures down to -30 C. The jackets all have hoods with face and nose protection. They will cover you down to your knees. The boots are also specially fabricated for ice and snow, insulated with non-slip soles. The hoods have removable caps to wear if the weather gets warmer and the jackets also have removable linings. Your black pants are double insulated."

"Thanks, Angelo. As always you and your staff did stellar work."

"Thank you, Captain," he beamed. "I'll pass on your appreciation to my staff. Please, use the dressing rooms to change. I know you're pressed for time."

The four of them changed quickly and reported to the transporter room. Lt. De Salle was already at his station and waiting for them.

"Are we ready, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Captain. The Andor main transporter station is ready to receive you."

"Very well, Mr. De Salle," Jim motioned for Gavin, Bones and Uhura to get on the transporter pads. "Energize."

The four of them materialized on the pads of the Andorian beam-in station nearest to Laikan.

A tall, very thin Andorian came forward. "Captain Kirk. I am Trah; I will take you part of the way to the prison where Thoris is being held. The ice cutter is just outside; come this way." He led them through the very heavy insulated translucent double doors to the outside. The bitter cold hit them immediately as they stepped outside. A huge red tractor like vehicle with enormous wicked looking spiked tires was parked close to the doors. Get in. I will take you to the first tunnel. Someone else will then take you to the prison to see Thoris."

Jim glanced at Gavin. There had been no welcome, no niceties, no tilting of the antennae in greeting, no conversation. It seemed they were here on sufferance, only because of Sarek's intervention. Very well, two could play the game. He composed his face to sternness and sat back for the ride.

—-

 **1 see Ring of Treason**


	18. Chapter 18

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 18**

" **They keep us in our cells**

 **For a long time...**

 **And, if we get out,**

 **We lug them with us on our shoulders,**

 **Like a porter with a chest of goods."**

 **Visar Zhiti,**

The five officers scrambled up into the huge vehicle using the tall step ladder attached to its side. The metal door had been left open to make it easier for them to get into the vehicle. The Andorian driver, also wearing cold weather gear, went around to the driver's side to get on, while the five of them took seats behind him in small bucket seats facing each other. The driver closed the heavy door with a loud clang. The vehicle had heat vents blowing warm air, but since it had been left open for a few minutes, it was still bitterly cold. The driver turned back to look at them, presumably to make sure they were on board, but he didn't say a word. He turned on the ice cutter engine, and with a mighty roar, the giant vehicle began to move very slowly through the huge, wide tunnel, and it seemed to hit every mound of ice and snow. If there was an actual road for it to travel on, it was not apparent to those sitting inside being bounced around.

Jim debated whether or not to attempt conversation with the Andorian driver, but in the end decided not to. Two could play the silent game, he thought, so their ride on the ice cutter to the first destination was deafeningly silent.

After a few minutes of silence, Bones raised an eyebrow and pulled down his face protector to turn in his bucket seat so he faced Jim who was beside him. "Friendly cuss, ain't he?" he murmured very softly for Jim's ears alone. Jim's snort was muffled by his face covering, but he nudged Bones with his elbow, his hazel eyes dancing. Spock, across from him raised an eyebrow and looked at Leonard in disapproval, his Vulcan hearing easily catching his soft murmur. Leonard returned the look with a raised eyebrow of his own. Two could play the eyebrow game.

Gavin and Uhura both pulled down their face covering to speak. "How long do you think this fun ride will be, Jim?" Gavin grimaced after a particularly hard bump and rubbed at his cold nose. Uhura ran her gloves hands over her cheeks to warm them up as she shivered.

"I have no idea," Jim said, leaning forward and raising his voice a little, "but thank God and Angelo for these insulated outfits." He turned to Spock, his face concerned; Vulcans had very little tolerance for cold weather. "Are you doing alright, Spock?"

"I am adequate, Captain, although I must confess that this is not my favorite type of climate. I, however, do concur that these survival suits and boots are sufficiently insulated to ward off hypothermia."

The ice cutter heater was doing little to warm them, obviously most of the power of the vehicle going to its enormous engine, so they pulled up their face covers and sat back to wait until they got to the tunnel. After what seemed an interminable time, the driver stopped, turned off the engine and turned around to face them. "We are now at the mouth of ice tunnel 2. We must wait here until ice cutter 2 comes through the tunnel for you."

"Driver, how many tunnels must we traverse to get to Laikan?" Spock asked.

"The tunnels are in descending order," the Andorian driver said. "The next ice cutter will take you through tunnel 2, then the next one through tunnel 1 and then a vehicle, not an ice cutter, but a regular ground transport vehicle will take you to the prison. The tunnels are not heated, hence the need for traveling through them with ice cutters. Laikan, however, is warmed by our geothermal heat, so no ice cutters are needed there. You will see it is much warmer in the city." The Andorian driver turned his back to them; he had obviously finished speaking.

They waited a few minutes until the driver's comm crackled. "Ice cutter 3, this is ice cutter 2. We are here to pick up 5 passengers."

"Five passengers disembarking now." The Andorian got out, went to the other side of the vehicle and pulled down the ladder. He opened the door, and motioned brusquely to them to get out. Once all five had climbed out, he led them a little way into the tunnel to the waiting ice cutter.

"I will leave you now. Th'Lev will take you through to tunnel number 1."

The second driver came toward them and his antennae came forward. "Hello, hello, Terran dwellers. Welcome to Andor. It is my pleasure, my very great pleasure to drive you through this next tunnel. I will endeavor to make your ride as warm and comfortable as possible." He beamed at them, his antennae quivering with excitement, ushering them to his vehicle, where the ladder was already down, but the door closed.

Jim collected his scattered wits at this genial reception to return the greeting. "Thank you, Th'Lev for your kind welcome. We are pleased to make your acquaintance."

Th'Lev climbed up the ladder, opened the door and jumped back down. "I believe my vehicle will be comfortably warm for Terran dwellers. Please get in and tell me if the temperature is comfortable."

They climbed up the ladder and once again sat in the bucket seats. This ice cutter was a lot warmer, so they pulled off their face protectors and gloves. Th'Lev climbed in, slammed his door and turned in his seat to face them. "Warm enough?" He asked, one antenna coming forward in a question.

"Yes, thank you, we're quite comfortable," Jim responded.

"Good, Good. You are my first Terran tourists," he told them, his antennae quivering in obvious excitement. "When I finished my tourist training modules, I did not expect to be so lucky as to have Terran tourists this soon. Will you be in Laikan long?" He asked turning on the vehicle.

"Um...not long," Jim answered, still a little surprised at the contrast in behavior between the two drivers. "We hope to see quite a bit of your city. We've heard there are many places of beauty and interest," he said, improvising rapidly. Obviously, this young Andorian, for young he was, knew nothing about their visit to Thoris in the prison.

"If you need a driver in Laikan, please consider my humble self," he said speaking softly, flourishing a small disposable chip to Jim. "Here is my contact information. I also drive a ground vehicle for visitors and would be happy to take you to the best tourist locations. There are many beautiful places to visit in Laikan."

Jim reached over and took it from him. "Thank you, Th'Lev, we will certainly call you if we need you."

Th'Lev's antennae came together in a heart on top of his head.

"Well I'll be damned," Leonard said softly to Uhura. "They really do make a heart. If that ain't that the cutest thing you've ever seen! I sure do like this young man," he whispered in an aside to Jim. "Quite a difference from our first driver, wouldn't you say, Jimmy?"

Jim nodded, looking bemused. "I guess the tourist training modules have worked on some Andorians," he whispered back.

The ride was a not a long one, and at the entrance to the next tunnel, Th'Lev stopped his vehicle. "We are here," he announced. "Shres, my colleague will take you to Laikan. Goodbye my first Terran clients. It was enchanting to make your acquaintance," he said, his antennae making another small heart to McCoy's great delight

"Likewise, Th'Lev," Jim smiled broadly at the young Andorian. "May I ask you a question?"

Th'Lev's antennae came forward and he nodded.

"Why doesn't one ice cutter take passengers to Laikan instead of using three to do so?"

"Ah, well, Terran Sir, there are two reasons. First we all work for the Laikan local Government, so we are all paid equally. Quite some time ago, they decided to employ three drivers instead of one, to help the unemployment rate of Laikan and circulate more credits in the local economy. There are many tunnels that criss cross Andor," he continued, "so many cities have done the same as we have. Therefore, more Andorians are employed across both continents with very good economic results. Secondly, the ice cutters are very difficult to maneuver, many try, but they cannot handle the big vehicles, so those of us who can, who have the facility to do so, are promptly hired."

"Ah, I understand. Thank you Th'Lev, and for now, goodbye." Jim told him, as Shres came up to them to escort them to the third vehicle.

The third ride was the shortest of all. Shres did greet them politely, helped with the ladder, and kept the vehicle warm, but he said little during the ride until they had almost reached the end of the tunnel. He turned in his seat to address them. "I have been directed to tell you that from here you will walk through that short enclosed walkway. On the other side is a member of the Imperial Guard who will escort you to wherever you are going." He tipped his antennae to them, got down and dropped the passenger side ladder. Once they had all climbed down, he pointed to a door. "There is the walk way." He bid them a polite goodbye, climbed back into the ice cutter and drove slowly away.

Jim led the way to the large door, walking slowly and carefully on the icy surface. As they stepped in front of the walkway, the door opened automatically. Immediately welcomed warmth enfolded them as they stepped inside and the door closed behind them. They stood there for a moment, savoring the warmth. It was with relief that they lowered their face coverings and removed their bulky gloves.

"Well it seems we're here at last," Gavin said. "Jim, you want to take point with the Imperial Guard Officer, or do you want me to. They know you and your reputation as Captain of the _Enterprise_ , so you might have more sway with them, but on the other hand if we have to push, it might be better to hold back on your Captain's clout and prestige in case we need it. Also, if I take point as an SIS Officer, then it'll surprise them when you take charge of Thoris' interrogation at the prison."

"Commander Bradford does raise a valid point, Sir, and I concur with his strategy," Spock said.

"I do too, gentlemen, so I'll hold back and defer to you, Gavin. Uhura, if you see, hear, or feel uneasy about anything that seems odd, strained, or strange, don't hesitate to speak up."

"Of course, Captain."

Jim glanced at Leonard. "Any last minute words of advice, Bones?"

Leonard shook his head. "No, Jim. We're prepared. Let's just get this show on the road, ask our questions, and leave this place. I don't like it here, it's too damned cold for this Georgia boy," he grumbled.

"I agree with the doctor," Spock said. "This planet's temperature is not optimum for comfort."

"See Jim? When Spock and I agree on somethin' you better listen."

Jim just shook his head at them. "Let's go then." Ahead was another heavy door, and again it opened automatically when they approached it. On the other side stood an Andorian dressed in full military garb, obviously their escort from the Imperial Guard. His uniform was a rich black trimmed with a gold braid and gold Command stripes. The black contrasted sharply with his blue complexion. Jim was beginning to see the different hues of the Andorians' complexion. Prior to this, his contact with Andorians had been limited to the Ambassador and his small staff on their journey to Babel, and to the very few Fleet ships' officers seen on the _Enterprise's_ view screen. He hadn't really noticed any differences then, and he wondered if the different complexion hues were in any way related to the planet's temperature...blue tans so to speak.

"Greetings, Terrans. I am Keval, a Commander of the Andorian Imperial Guard, and one of those assigned to oversee and guard the Laikan Prison." The Andorian spoke softly, and his antennae came forward in the traditional Andorian greetings.

Gavin stepped forward and lowered his head politely. "Greetings, Keval. I am Gavin Bradford, Commander, Star Fleet, in charge of this mission and these are members of my team. Captain James T. Kirk, Commander S'chn T'gai Spock, Lt. Commander Leonard H. McCoy, Lt. Nyota Uhura."

One of the Andorian's antennas came forward and one went back.

"He's startled," Uhura whispered very softly to Jim.

"You are in charge of this group, Commander Bradford?" His eyes slid over to look at Jim. Obviously, the Andorian knew who he was, and, Gavin was sure, he was puzzled as to why Jim was not in charge here.

"I am," Gavin answered simply.

Jim kept his face impassive, and so did the four others as they waited to see what else Keval would say. Surprisingly the Andorian said nothing more, instead he pointed to a well-marked Imperial Guard ground car. "We will travel to the prison in that vehicle. There is room for all of you."

He turned to Gavin, motioning him to sit in the front seat by him. "It is my understanding that you wish to interrogate the prisoner, Thoris." Keval's antennae quivered in agitation as he spoke.

Gavin nodded. "We have received permission to do so by the local government of Laikan."

"So I have been advised," Keval responded. "I have also been advised to make certain that you are fully aware of the nature of Thoris' crime before you interrogate him." His antennae went back almost flat against his head.

 _Disgust_ , Jim remembered from Uhura's antennae positions file pictures. Interesting. Not anger, but deep and profound disgust.

Keval continued, speaking softly. "Thoris is he who fled off world to avoid The Ushaan. In our culture and tradition this is the most cowardly and dishonorable act that a thaan or chan can exhibit. **1** Cowardly, because The Ushaan is no longer the barbaric duel that it once was. Long ago, the combatants fought while tethered to each other with an ice miner's tool called the Ushaan-for. It was sharp enough to sever one's head. That type of duel no longer happens. Now there are many ways that a duel to the death can be avoided, but Andorian honor and tradition are still satisfied. Through the ages, we have added 12,000 amendments to the Ushaan duel. By just invoking one of these amendments, Thoris could have satisfied our code of honor. Instead he fled like the dishonorable coward that he is, not even willing to uphold his and our Andorian honor. There has never been a thaan or chan who has done this before. He is the first; therefore he is universally despised and hated for his cowardice. The Andorian Government Police have hunted for him for several years and on many worlds, until at last he was apprehended on Terra. Once apprehended, he was brought before the tribunal of judges and found guilty of his crime. His punishment is a life time of hard labor. He will never leave prison."

One of his antennas came forward in a question to Gavin. "You Terrans may perhaps find the Ushaan duel and Thoris' punishment barbaric?"

Leonard opened his mouth to respond, but Jim elbowed him and he shut his mouth.

"Certainly not, Keval. It is not our way on Earth," Gavin admitted, "but we do not judge other worlds' cultural traditions or injunctions by our own. We are here only to interrogate Thoris about another crime, one which was committed on Terra, and in which he was complicit."

"Another crime?" The antennae quivered rapidly in surprise and agitation. "Is the Government Police aware of this additional crime?"

"No, I don't think they are," Gavin responded. "But that is something that can be remedied after we finish our interrogation. We'll be happy to press charges for this additional crime if that is the acceptable process here in Andor."

Keval's eyes shifted from person to person. "It is acceptable, and it will be done as you wish. I will notify the Andorian Government Police to send an officer to meet with you following your interrogation. Come, I will take you to the prison. Thoris will be waiting for you."

Before the five of them got into Keval's ground car, they took off their heavy coats. They were all in Starfleet uniform, and wearing their phasers."

"No phasers are allowed in the prison," Keval told them, his antennae waving back and forth. "You must check them at the entrance, it is a security precaution implemented inside the prison."

"It's the same in all Federation prisons," Gavin informed him. "Of course we will check our phasers."

Once inside the ground car Keval drove them through Laikan.

Jim spoke for the first time. "Your city is very beautiful, Keval."

"It is," Keval responded, his antennae pointing straight up in pride. "Perhaps you will have time to see some of places of interest."

"Perhaps," Jim said noncommittally, as the car began to pick up speed.

"There is the prison, ahead," Keval said after a few minutes of driving.

"It's a very large and imposing building," Gavin said, looking at the high thick walls. Imperial Andorian Guards in full uniform were patrolling the front of the huge complex. To the side of the prison, there was a large parking area for ground cars and hovers. Keval parked the ground car and opened the doors.

"Come," he told them. "I will take you to Thoris."

They followed him to the entrance of the prison. A guard at the door saluted Keval and opened the huge front double doors. Just inside the doors was a long metal chute. "I must collect your phasers now," Keval told them. They handed him the five phasers and he locked them in a compartment which opened with his thumb print.

"You will follow me in one at a time in a row as we go through the chute." As they followed the Andorian, a metal scanner, emitting a red pushing wave, ran up and down each person as they walked through the chute. Once out of the chute, they came to an area that was obviously a center anteroom which had hallways running off of it like spokes on a wheel. Each hallway was marked at the top with Andorian characters. "We go this way," Keval told them, one antenna pointing to a hallway on his right.

"Where are we going?" Gavin asked, walking beside Keval, the others trailing just behind the two.

"We are here. This is the section of the prison where prisoners are housed by themselves. I believe in your world such an area is called a solitary confinement section. This area is for the most despised criminals in our society; the dregs, the monsters among us; the molesters of children, the physical abusers of shen or Zheng, the murderers, those who abandon parents and grandparents, and now too, Thoris, he is one of a kind." He led them to a narrow door. "In this room, you may sit to interrogate Thoris. He will be sent in and you will question him in private. Afterward, I will take you to...," he paused, his antennae bending and curling forward as he thought of the correct word, "the magistrate, I believe is the correct word, to bring Thoris to account for the crimes he has committed on your world. Is this acceptable?"

"Quite acceptable, thank you Keval," Jim said. "I am the one who will bring those crimes to the magistrate, since it was one of my officers who was the victim."

Keval nodded, a faint smile crossing his face. "Ah, the Captain speaks at last. I was wondering when the time would come when the famous Captain Kirk would make his formidable presence felt. I am pleased. Thoris will not be pleased." He bowed his head and his antennae and left the room. Immediately, the other door opened and Thoris, his hands and feet shackled, shuffled in. The attendant accompanying him sat him down and tested his shackles. "Press the button under the table when you have concluded the interrogation and I will return." He left, closing the door behind him.

There was a deep silence in the room as prisoner and officers stared at each other. At the sight of the uniformed Starfleet officers, Thoris' antennae had opened wide and flopped limply to the side of his head. _Shocked_ , Jim thought. _Shocked and deeply afraid._ As for his team, except for McCoy, it was the first time they were face to face with the being who might give them the information they needed to find and arrest Baghdassarian.

"Sit down, Thoris," Jim told him. "We have been invited here as Starfleet officers to interrogate you. You have committed additional serious crimes on Earth, but you will have to answer for them here on Andor. However...if you help us, we might be able to help you; help you, at least, to the extent that it will save you from the death penalty."

—

 **1** On Andor, there are four genders. In human terms there are two male, the _thaan_ and _chan_. The other two are female, the _zhen_ and _shen_.


	19. Chapter 19

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 19**

" **I own that I have been sly, thievish, mean,**

 **a prevaricator, greedy, derelict,**

 **And I own that I remain so yet."**

 **Walt Whitman**

Thoris shifted in his seat, his antennae quivering, his pale eyes moving rapidly from person to person, until they fixed on Leonard.

"I know you," he whispered hoarsely, looking hard at Leonard.

They were all sitting around the interrogation table. Gavin, Jim, and Leonard were directly across from Thoris, Uhura and Spock at both ends of the rectangular synth wood table.

"Yeah, you sure do," Leonard told him. "You kidnapped me from the Fleet hospital parking lot, threatened me, and then left me out in the fog and cold at The Presidio when you realized I wasn't the person you wanted."

"It was not my mistake, it was...my employer's mistake," Thoris muttered resentfully. "I just did as he told me to do." He glanced at the others. "I do not know the rest of you. Who are you, why have you come here, and what do you want with me?"

Jim glanced at Gavin indicating that he was to take the lead and speak first. Gavin gave him a tiny nod. "I'm Commander Bradford with the Starfleet Intelligence Service. These Starfleet Officers are part of my team. We're here to interrogate you about your employer, Edward Baghdassarian."

The Andorian gave a visible start and his antennae suddenly went up, straight and rigid.

"Yes," Jim interjected. "We know you were hired by Edward Baghdassarian to help him with some highly illegal activities on Earth." His usually warm, golden eyes were cold and hard as he stared at Thoris.

After his obvious start of surprise, Thoris just stared at them and stayed stubbornly silent.

"There's no use in lying to us or refusing to speak, Thoris," Jim told him. "We already know what you and Baghdassarian did. We know you bribed the Fleet hospital clerk, and by the way, he's already been arrested. We know you kidnapped Dr. McCoy, and we know you broke into my mother's farm house, ransacked her office, shot her, and almost killed her."

"Your mother?" Thoris sounded shocked. His antennae moved rapidly back and forth in confusion and agitation.

"Yes, my mother." Jim leaned back in the chair, a veritable picture of outward calm and composure, when all he really wanted was to jump over the table and throttle the Andorian. "I'm James T. Kirk, Starfleet, Captain of the _Enterprise_ , and my mother is Dr. Winona Kirk, also Starfleet. You shot her in her office and she almost died. That was our home you broke into to try to steal her research." Jim knew he was stretching the truth a little, but he also knew that Thoris was fully aware that kind of crime meant the death penalty on Andor and he hoped that shocking bit of news would loosen his tongue. "We haven't notified the Andorian authorities about that yet, but after this meeting we're scheduled to meet with the Andorian Government Police to press those additional charges against you. We've been told that attacking, injuring or killing a female of any species, is, according to Andorian law, punishable by death."

"We're willing to hold back from telling the Andorian authorities about the crime against the Captain's mother in exchange for all, and we do mean _all_ ," Gavin broke in, looking at Thoris coldly, "the Intel you can give us about Baghdassarian. It's him that we want to apprehend and arrest. Think about it, Thoris. You will still be in prison, but at least you'll be alive."

The Andorian blinked, obviously blindsided by Gavin's proposal. He ducked his head, his antennae flopping listlessly down, without life, almost touching his sparse eyebrows.

Jim turned to Uhura, a question in his eyes. She leaned in close to his ear to whisper. "Defeat, giving up."

They all sat silently for a few minutes waiting to hear what Thoris would decide. Jim and Gavin had laid their cards on the table, now they had to see if Thoris would pick them up. Was the Andorian drive for self-preservation as ingrained in their psyche, in their genetic make up, as it was in the human psyche? What was Thoris' life, even imprisoned, worth to him?

Finally Thoris lifted his head, his antennae rising slowly to straighten up. He eyed Jim sullenly. "Very well, Captain, I will tell you all I know about Baghdassarian. In return you will not tell the Andorian police that I shot your mother. It was not my intention to do so. She surprised us as we were searching her office. The house was empty when we arrived, we made sure of that, but she returned unexpectedly."

Jim took in a long breath. At last there was a possibility of light at the end of this tunnel. Maybe now they'd find out where Baghdassarian was hiding and end this mission. He kept a tight rein on his temper at hearing Thoris' attempt to excuse himself. Jim twitched angrily in his chair. Bones, sitting very close to him, could feel the bunched muscles in his arms and back, and the iron control Jim was keeping on himself. Under the table, he put a calming hand on Jim's knee and felt the slight relaxation of Jim's tension under his hand.

"Very well, Thoris, you have my word," Jim told him coldly. "Your crime against my mother will not be mentioned to the Andorian police, but just so we're clear, the rest of what you and Baghdassarian did will be."

The Andorian nodded.

"Let's get started, then." He unclipped his communicator and put it in its record mode. "Everything you say will be recorded from now on. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Ask you questions, Terran."

"What was it you were searching for in the farmhouse?" Jim asked. First, they needed to find out how much Thoris knew about the properties of the plant DNA.

"Baghdassarian told me there was a data chip with research data he needed for his pharmaceutical business. He said the chip was hidden somewhere in that house. He hired me to help him find it. He paid me very well to help him do it."

"What was on the chip?" Gavin asked. "And how did he know where it was?"

"He did not tell me what was stored in the chip," Thoris said. "Only that he needed the data stored in it for further in depth research by the scientists in his company. He did not say what kind of research, but I could tell he was very determined to acquire it. He seemed willing to do anything to find it." The Andorian's antennae came up and turned outwards, one to the right, the other to the left, a sign he was puzzled as to why his employer was so obsessed with the data chip.

"How did Baghdassarian know about the data chip in the first place?" Jim asked.

"Baghdassarian told me that he has many scientific colleagues throughout the Alpha quadrant. They share information, he said. Many times he spoke to me about how his research had been advanced through knowledge acquired from one or the other of them. I assumed one of those acquaintances had told him about the data on the chip."

Gavin and Jim exchanged glances simultaneously and rapidly putting together the chain of events of the plant's DNA after being sent Earth. Baghdassarian had research spies scattered across the quadrant, including it seemed, within Starfleet's Science Research Department. Either by accident, design, or bribery, one of the researchers on Lamma II had passed on the information that the plant they'd harvested was 500,000 years old, that it still appeared to be a fresh young plant, and that the team had sent it on to the main Starfleet Agronomy Department for further research and testing. Once the plant was at the Fleet Agronomy lab, the rumor had leaked out about the plant's DNA before Fleet classified the research data with its highest level of secrecy. After the research had been sent on to Winona Kirk for verification, through his network, Baghdassarian had discovered where the data chip had been sent, and he set out to get it.

"Why did you and Baghdassarian decide to kidnap Dr. McCoy?" Spock asked Thoris suddenly.

"Yeah, I wanna' know that myself," Leonard growled.

The Andorian grimaced. "Baghdassarian heard, I do not know how or from whom, that the data chip had been newly brought to the hospital laboratory for more research by a scientist who came there from off planet. He bribed one of the personnel clerks to find out who it was that had brought the research data to the laboratories for study." He looked at McCoy. "The clerk identified you, Doctor, as the new Fleet scientist who came from somewhere off planet. That is why we took you. The clerk did not say there was more than one of you."

"Well, he sure as hell gave you some real bad information," Leonard raised his voice, scowling darkly at the Andorian.

"Bones...," Jim said softly, warningly.

Leonard subsided, and sat back trying to look relaxed. He had to remember to keep his mouth shut, that he was here only to observe, not to interfere, or interject with comments. He had assured Jim he could handle this and he would not, he absolutely would not, distract Jim with doubts about Leonard's mental state.

"Sorry, Captain," he murmured softly.

Jim flashed him a small reassuring smile then turned back to Thoris. Now came the crux of this interrogation.

"Thoris, we know you piloted a shuttle to ferry Baghdassarian around, a warp capable shuttle that he rented in Iowa from the Cavendar Shuttle Company in Des Moines. We know that it's a specialized shuttle company that only caters to clients like Baghdassarian, rich clients and big corporate accounts who rent very luxurious and expensive shuttles that have to be housed somewhere safely and securely."

Thoris' eyes blinked and widened in surprise as he stared at Jim.

"Yes we know all about the shuttle rental," Jim told him. "What we don't know, and what we want you to tell us, is where is this safe and secure place where Baghdassarian hides himself and the shuttle?"

The Andorian pressed his lips tightly and remained silent for a long moment.

"May I remind you, Mr. Thoris, of the bargain you made with us? If you are not willing to uphold your end of it, we shall leave you now and proceed directly to the Andorian Police to inform them of your attempted murder of Dr. Kirk and of her subsequent injury and head trauma." Spock's face was utterly serene and impassive as he stated their ultimatum.

Thoris looked at implacable faces in front of him and his antennae drooped. "Mr. Baghdassarian paid me very well, and I am not in the habit of breaking confidences or speaking about my clients after our business association is concluded. You understand that kind of behavior would not have been beneficial to my continued employment. However, since it will no longer be possible for me to seek similar employment, and I am now to be confined here for the rest of my life, I will adhere to the bargain I made with you."

The Andorian shifted uncomfortably in his hard chair. McCoy, observing him, thought that his discomfort came as a result of breaking one of the few honorable business tenants he had steadfastly adhered to during his checkered criminal past.

"Mr. Baghdassarian has a large retreat, or rather I would call it a compound, where he and his immediate family reside while visiting Terra. Sometime in the past, he bought a large amount of undeveloped property; it's a forest really, where he built a large house. I could not have easily found it when I flew the shuttle without his giving me the exact coordinates. He told me its location is not widely known since it was built to protect his privacy. I saw no reason to dispute this. Part of my employment contract stated that I must keep the location of the house secret...he called it a non-disclosure agreement. This I readily signed. What cared I about where he built his house or why he wanted to keep it hidden from others? It was entirely his business and I was paid well not to wonder about his secrets." He ducked his head and then looked up, although his thoughts seemed far away. "He is a strange man, Mr. Baghdassarian," Thoris mused softly. "His thought processes are not like other humans I have known. He will not give up on anything he wants, no matter the difficulty. Ah well, I have not really known many humans." He shook his head, obviously shaking off his introspection about the vagaries of human behavior. "The house is located about 125 kilometers north of the old city of Santa Rosa. It is hidden deep in the forest. You will not see it until you are upon it. I will give you the coordinates." He recited them and Spock inputted them in his comm.

Thoris leaned back in his chair, his antennae drooping, his shoulders slumped. Leonard turned to face Jim, leaning in to whisper in Jim's ear, raising his hand to block his mouth so the Andorian could not see what he was saying. "He's very tired now, Jim," he said very softly. "He gave way on telling us about the house, breaking one of the few principles he still holds dear. There's nothin' much left in him. I think we've gotten as much as we're gonna' get outta' of him."

Jim nodded. He had seen that break down in prisoners before. Bones was right.

"We're finished, Thoris. You've kept your side of the bargain, so rest assured we'll keep ours," Jim told him. "Anyone else have any questions?"

"I have one," Leonard said.

"Bones...," Jim muttered in protest.

Leonard waved a reassuring hand at him. "Thoris, you're gonna' be in here a very long time. What had you thought of doing with yourself?"

"Doing with myself?"

"Yes, doing with yourself. How are you gonna' occupy your time? You have access here to a library here?"

Thoris nodded. "We have restricted access to Memory Prime; books, journals, magazines." His antennae quirked at Leonard, he was obviously puzzled at the question. So were the others, if the puzzlement on their faces was any indication.

"I'm gonna' make a suggestion to you, Thoris. Take it under advisement if you want, or ignore it. Totally up to you."

"What is your suggestion, Doctor?"

"Being in prison for a long time messes with a person's mind and unless you do somethin' about it, you end up existin' more as a vegetable than as a man, uncaring, apathetic, and even suicidal. You need to take up an interest, study it, become an expert, and learn all you can about whatever subject interests you. On Earth, we rehabilitate prisoners now, but I don't think that happens here, right?"

Thoris shook his head, his antennae also waving _no_.

"Well that was the way it was a very long time ago on Earth. Back then, you were a prisoner and that was it, you made do somehow with livin' your life in prison. There was a man back then, a violent criminal, a vile man, his name was Robert Stroud. He's famous in our Earth history and is still renowned by criminologists as possibly the best-known example of self-improvement and rehabilitation in the old United States Prison system. Stroud took up studyin' about birds when one flew into his cell, injured and he nursed it back to health. He became a very famous ornithologist and an author, writing several books about birds, their migrations, their diseases, their habitats, their mating patterns, everything possible you could know about birds. He even began to raise birds in prison. Although he was considered as one of the most notorious criminals of the time, isolated from other prisoners and hated by the prison authorities, he found a focus for himself, something that kept his mind sharp, something that he came to love doing, something that would occupy his time in solitary confinement, and he became famous for doing it. It saved his sanity. My suggestion to you, Thoris, is to find something like that. Find a focus, something to occupy your time and your mind in your solitude. That's all I wanted to tell you," Leonard said. He could find it in his heart to feel compassion for this being, who would be alone in prison for the rest of his life. He suppressed a shudder at the horror of that thought.

Thoris inclined his head in the Terran manner of thanks. "Thank you for your suggestion, Doctor. I will take your words under advisement."

Jim rose from the table and the others did too. "Goodbye Thoris." Jim told him. "We have an appointment with the Government Police now, but we will keep our bargain. My mother will not be mentioned." Jim pressed the call button as they had been told to do when the interrogation was finished, and the door opened. The guard approached Thoris and as he stood, his shackles rattled.

"Goodbye, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy. Please pass on my regards to Mr. Baghdassarian. He not only paid me well, he was kind to me." Thoris turned and shuffled out the door.

There was a profound silence after the door closed. Leonard sighed. "Poor devil."

Jim looked at his friend with soft, affectionate eyes. "That was kind of you, Bones. You didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you did."

"Once it came to my mind, I had to, Jim. I cain't even imagine what that would be like; to be alone always, to never see your friends and family, to languish away in a cell for the rest of your like. I know it's not for us to judge this culture, Jim, but to me it seems to be the highest form of torture. Death couldn't come too soon, if that was me."

Jim looked into the kind gentle blue eyes. Bones first instinct was always to heal, to save, to help; his huge compassionate heart seemed to have no limits. "You could never be like him, Bones. Never!"

"I concur with the Captain, Doctor. It is not in you to be in any way like Thoris."

"Well now, Mr. Spock. Could that possibly be compliment that I hear from your mouth?" Leonard grinned in glee at the Vulcan, as he rocked lightly on his heels.

"Certainly not, Doctor," came the bland reply. "It is merely a scientific deduction after observing your behavior and character for the last three years. Pure empirical evidence, I can assure you."

Uhura, sliding her hand under Leonard's arm, chuckled softly and said, "I totally agree with Mr. Spock, Len."

The outer door opened and Keval came in. "I have been notified that your interview has concluded, Captain. Did you get the information you wanted?"

"Yes, we did. Thoris was very cooperative," Jim said. "In the interest of full disclosure I told him about the pending charges we were going to file against him with your Police department. Even with that, he was still cooperative."

"I am gratified to hear it," Keval responded. "I will now escort you to the magistrate. He is here within the compound and you will be able to file your charges with him. I must tell you, Captain, that it is only a formality. There is no further punishment that can be inflicted on Thoris other than the one he is currently undergoing."

"We understand, Keval, but we feel it's important that his crimes on Earth be documented here on Andor too."

"I agree with you, Captain Kirk. After you speak with the magistrate, we will return to the front door of the prison to pick up your phasers, then I will drive you to the entrance of the ice tunnel and wait there with you for the ice cutter to pick you up. You will leave Laikan in the same way that you arrived, on the ice cutters and through the three ice tunnels. The third ice cutter will take you to the transporter station to beam back to your ship."

"Thank you Keval. We certainly appreciate your help and cooperation. It will help us to apprehend another criminal back on Earth."

Keval inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Please follow me to the magistrate's office."


	20. Chapter 20

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 20**

" **Millions long for immortality who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon."**

 **Susan Ertz**

After Keval left them, they spent a good hour with the Andorian Magistrate. He was very interested in hearing about the additional crimes Thoris had committed on Earth. He told them he had never traveled outside of the Andorian solar system and he was curious about life on Terra.

After listening carefully to all Jim told him, one of his antennas came forward and the other went back in explanation. "You understand, Captain Kirk, that these crimes of which you speak will be added to Thoris' record as a mere formality. There is no possible penalty we can add to his sentence, but it is prudent to have them added on his record." The magistrate, Jim thought, was elderly. There was long sparse white hair between his antennae that fell down around his ears and the back of his head, and, the usual soft cadence of Andorian voices was even softer in the magistrate than the others they'd heard, and his voice was even a little shaky.

"We understand, Magistrate. Keval informed us of Thoris' prison sentence, life in prison and solitary confinement. He implied that the only worse penalty was the death sentence."

The Magistrate's antennae drooped. "That is so." He sighed softly. "Perhaps his death would be preferable than being alone for the rest of your life. Although it may not be well known, Captain, Andorians always seek the companionship of our own kind. We are used to being with others, hence our marriages are always between four of us, our family commitments are very strong, and we, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, other siblings, cherish and indulge our children." His antennae drooped. "Our children are few on Andor. We never travel alone and always our elders have company. Thoris will never again know the warmth of those experiences. I, for one, could not bear it, Captain."

"I agree with your sentiment, Sir," Spock said. "Vulcans, too, cherish family, all their clan members, and their children."

"Thank you for your time, Magistrate," Jim told him. "We must be returning to our ship."

The Andorian inclined his antennae. "Goodbye, Captain, and all of you. Safe travels back to your home world."

Once back on board the ship, the team shed their winter gear in the transporter room, sending all the bulky clothes back to Stores. There was little conversation, the somberness of the Magistrates words still lingering with them.

Jim, anxious to get back to his routine, immediately sent a message to Angelo telling him how well the cold weather gear had worked on Andor. He suggested that it become part of the permanent _Enterprise_ inventory, because, he told Angelo, they were sure to come across another frigid planet in their travels. Jim smiled at Angelo's gratified response. It was Jim's policy, since he'd become Captain, to give positive feedback to his crew whenever possible for a job well done. It cost him little, and it went a long way to enhance crew moral.

They all returned quickly to their respective duties; Jim went back to his command chair, Scotty to Engineering, Bones to Sick Bay, Uhura to her communication's board, Spock to his Science station, and Gavin went in the briefing room where he was presently reporting directly to Admiral Nogura about the success they'd had with Thoris' interrogation. Jim ordered best speed back to Earth, knowing that as soon as they arrived in San Francisco, the team would have to plan how they were going to apprehend Baghdassarian. Once back on Earth he would call them in for a briefing early in the morning after a good night's sleep. Baghdassarian would have to be found, arrested and questioned as quickly as possible.

Uhura swiveled in her chair, her head cocked. "Captain, you have a priority comm call from Chief Romaine."

"From Jonathon?" Jim frowned. Jonathon must have important news to share with him. "Pipe it to my briefing room please, Uhura."

"Yes, Sir."

"Spock, you have the con." He pulled down his gold tunic and hurried out. He opened the large comm on the table and Jonathon's face appeared. "Jim." His face was serious, but he didn't look worried so Jim relaxed a little in his chair.

"What's going on, Jonathon? Something happened?"

"Yes. Thought I should let you know. You know I've had patrols checking the farm house at random times, and an armed police escort for Mr. Thompson every day. Nothing untoward had happened up to yesterday. However, my night shift deputy left a report for me on my desk. It seems that your mother's security shield was tampered with at dawn, O421 is the time listed. Someone tried to disable the shield, with no success, may I add. My night deputy sent a patrol out to the farm right away, but whoever it was had already left. I figured he realized he'd triggered the alarm sensor."

Jim smiled grimly. Not for nothing had he had Scotty install and upgrade his mother's home security shield last year, and it had brought Jim peace of mind to know that his mother and Peter were well protected in the isolated farmhouse, and that the sensors were keyed to and monitored by the Sheriff's department. Not that Winona ever used the security system in the day time; it was too much trouble she insisted. In fact, it was because of that stubbornness, that Thoris and Baghdassarian had broken in. Thankfully, she did always use it at night and now, since she and Peter were with Jim, Jonathon had implemented the security shield both day and night.

"I'm sure it was Baghdassarian again. He thinks a copy of the plant research is still there at Ma's. And since they were able to break in last time with no trouble, I'm sure he thought he could do it again. Thanks for letting me know, Jonathon. We're on our way back to Earth. We got a lot of valuable information from Thoris, so let me fill you in on what he told us."

Jonathon listened to Jim's report quietly. "Are you going to need more manpower to arrest Baghdassarian?"

Jim smiled to himself. "You want to join us, Jonathon? I'm sure the Admiral would have no problem with that. After all, Baghdassarian is a civilian, and he did commit a crime within your jurisdiction."

Jonathon tilted his head, looking at him with a twinkle in his eye. "You reading minds now, Jim Kirk?"

"Nope, doesn't take a mind reader to know you were mad as hell about what happened to Ma on your watch."

"Damn straight. Winona didn't deserve any of that." Jonathon sighed. "I was really worried about her, Jim. I know your mother is going to be fine, that she's out of the hospital and doing great, but when I saw her unconscious and her head bleeding..." He shook his head, grimacing tightly. "So yeah, I'd like to join your team if you're willing."

"I'm more than willing, Jonathon. Glad to have you as part of the team. I'll comm you when we're in San Francisco and in the morning you can beam in for the briefing. It'll be bright and early though, at 0700."

"I'll be there at O630. Just comm where you'll be meeting. See you soon, Jim."

Jim nodded and switched off. There was a soft tap on the door. "Come in," he called out.

Gavin poked his head in. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Jim shook his head. "Just got off the comm with Jonathon. Seems like there was another attempted break in at the farmhouse early this morning."

"Baghdassarian?"

"We think so, but he was gone by the time the patrol got there. The security shield is doing its job. He probably went into warp when he realized he'd triggered the alarm. Jonathon wants to join the arrest team. I told him yes. We can always use another well trained officer with us when we go get Baghdassarian. I don't think Admiral Nogura will object, do you?"

"I'm sure he won't. Whatever we need to do, he's given us Carte Blanche. Just got off the comm with him. He's happy, well as happy as the Admiral can ever get, that we're going after Baghdassarian right away. He said he won't rest easy until he's apprehended and that Mr. Spock proves definitely that the plant DNA can't be modified for use in the humanoid genome. I told him Dr. McCoy will be working with Spock on the last of his plant DNA experiments when we get back. I just hope Spock is right, Jim."

"He is, Gavin. There's no one better than Spock. His research is always rigorous and Bones' is too. If they say it won't work, then it won't work, and we can put this behind us and bury this whole appalling immortality debacle." Jim shuddered. Humans were not meant to live forever...they were meant to live their allotted life span, to love, to dream, to experience loss, to strive, to overcome obstacles, to triumph over adversities and tragedies, and finally, at the end of their life to lay down their burdens and their triumphs, to rest. To do anything else was to diminish the value and sacredness of life. In his career in Starfleet, Jim had seen many very long lived species, even one species with no corporal bodies, immortal, many millions of years old. Yet they were not content, they wanted, they yearned, for a real life, for a corporal body **1** and then there had been Flint, **2** who could not die, always alone, outliving everyone he'd ever loved, desperate for love and companionship. No, Jim thought, immortality was not for humankind. Perhaps, as those who were believers said, there was another kind of life after death. Jim didn't know for sure, his experiences with the few Demi gods he'd met so far in their five year mission had not been positive. Those few Demi gods had been venial, vain, and petty, but since Jim had yet to meet the real God, he was withholding judgement on life after death. He sighed and rubbed his aching head.

"Headache, Jim," he asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. It's turning into a full blown one, too. Lights are too bright in here."

Gavin flipped open his communicator. "Bradford to Dr. McCoy."

"Gavin, no!" Jim yelped.

Gavin ignored him.

"McCoy here, Gavin. What's up, you feelin' alright?"

"I'm fine, Leonard, but Jim's heading for a full blown migraine. We're in the briefing room."

"I'll be right there. Turn down the lights, would ya?"

"I will," Gavin said. "Lights 20 percent," he said to the computer.

Jim huffed in defeat. There was a hypo in his immediate future and there was no getting away from that.

The briefing room door opened in an incredibly short amount of time and Bones was there wielding a prepared hypo. Leonard saw the tight set of Jim's mouth, the paleness in the usually ruddy face, and the frown on Jim's smooth forehead. "Head starting to hurt, Jimmy?"

Jim nodded regretting the action almost instantly. "Yeah, Bones. Haven't had one of these in a long time, don't know what brought it on."

"I do. It was the extremely cold weather we were in. Weather is a pretty common trigger for migraine sufferers. I should've thought about it sooner, but don't you worry, we've caught it real early and you'll feel better real soon. Bend your neck, Jim. You know the drill."

Jim obediently bent his neck to the side and Bones pressed lightly on his carotid. The hiss of the hypo meant relief would happen very soon. Sure enough, within a minute, the vice like tightness around his head and the pounding pain dulled quickly. Jim sighed thankfully. "Thanks, Bones. That feels better already."

"Good. The med is gonna' make you sleepy, so go take a nap. You'll feel 100 percent better afterward. I'll even wake you in an hour, or Gavin here will. Just dim the lights in your cabin, and keep warm. You can have a strong cup of coffee with dinner after you wake up. I saw that Spock has the con, so don't argue with your ole' country doctor, Captain."

Jim opened his mouth to tell Bones he was fine now, but one look at the implacable face and fierce blue eyes stopped him. "Okay, okay. A one hour nap it is, but be sure to wake me in an hour, Bones."

"I promise, now go. I'll tell Spock where you are."

Jim yawned, already feeling sleepy, and went out the door. Leonard and Gavin looked at each other. "Thanks for coming me, Gavin. If you'd left it up to Jim he would've waited until he was in the excruciating pain. He doesn't get migraines very often any more, but once in a while somethin' will trigger one."

Gavin looked rueful. "I was afraid he was going to get angry that I called you. I'm glad he didn't."

"Yeah, well he's stubborn, but he knows he has to be in tip top shape for the last part of this mission, getting Baghdassarian. A bad migraine, even with meds, leaves him rocky the next day and he can't afford that. He saw the sense in taking care of it right away." Leonard was silent for a minute, thinking. "Gavin, what do you think our chances are of findin' and arrestin' him quickly?"

"I think they're good Leonard. Thoris told us the truth about the house location. With the death penalty hanging over him if he told the Magistrate about Winona, I believe he told us everything he knew. I don't think Baghdassarian would head off planet since he hasn't found the research."

"Well let's just hope he's there when we go get him."

Gavin looked dubiously at Leonard. "Len, I don't think Jim is going to let you go. It's too dangerous. I'm very sure Baghdassarian will have armed guards patrolling and guarding his house. He's paranoid and obsessive and he guards his privacy fiercely. If Uhura and Sonaii hadn't dug deep, we wouldn't know that much about him. He's never in the news or tabloids. He'll have top notch security guards, that's for sure. We'll all be well armed, you know, but it's not going to be a walk in the park to apprehend him."

"I'm goin' Gavin. I'm not gonna' be left behind on this one. I can handle myself. You can ask Jim, I'm a dead shot. Learned from my Grandpa how to shoot, and I've kept up my skills. I work out same as Jim and Spock. Not sayin' I'm as good as them or Giotto at hand to hand combat, or as good as you, but I'm no slouch. Sulu, Chekov, and Jim work with me off and on. Sometimes we doctors get into sticky situations too, you know, and I believe in being prepared, and not just medically either. Have to be with Jim Kirk as a Captain. That man takes us places where angels fear to tread, but he always gets us out of them too."

"We'll see what Jim says," was Gavin's non-committal answer. "I think I'll go on to my guest quarters. I want to comm Violet, let her know we're on our way home. I'll ask her to let Winona know too."

"Good idea," Leonard agreed.

Leonard went back to Sick Bay and Gavin went to his assigned guest quarters for a little quiet. He'd ask Uhura to get Violet on the comm and put her mind at ease that he was fine. Gavin knew that his job caused her worry, but she had never said a word to him about asking for a reassignment. In spite of the fact that her first husband had been killed in an accident and Davy had never known any father except for Gavin, Violet respected Gavin enough to leave his job choice entirely up to him. Still Gavin was troubled. They had made a decision to have another child. Was it fair to ask Violet to yet again become a single parent if something happened to him? Gavin hoped to get an opportunity to talk these things over with Winona. She had become like a second mother to him and to Violet too, and he knew she would be there for both of them, loving and sensible. He closed his eyes and soon he was deep into a nap too.

Leonard was as good as his word. When the hour was up, he entered Jim's cabin silently and woke him up. He sat on the bed until Jim was fully awake. "How's the headache, Jimmy." He smiled down at the sleepy Jim.

"Hey, Bones." Jim raised his head slowly and cautiously. He smiled his sunshine smile in relief. "It's totally gone. You nipped it in the bud. Thanks, Bones."

"You're welcome. That's what I'm here for, now if only you'd get it in your thick head to tell me early on, we could take care of a lot of things before they got worse."

"I know, Bones." Jim's hazel eyes were remorseful. "But sometimes I feel like I need to take care of things on my own, not come whining to you about small things."

Leonard snorted. "That's ridiculous, Jim. A full blown migraine is not a small thing, neither are dislocated shoulders, sprained ankles, nor cracked ribs. I've had to chase you down to treat you when you've had all those things. By the time I get you into Sick Bay things are a lot worse than they could've been for both you and me."

"I know I'm a pain in your ass sometimes, Bones." Jim still sounded remorseful. "But I'll try to do better, okay?"

"That's all I ask, Jim. Come on now. It's time for dinner. We could all use a good meal. Gavin was gonna' comm Violet, so let's go hear what Davy's been up to. Gavin was also gonna' ask Violet to let your mama know we're on our way home. It'll set her mind at ease."

"It certainly will. After dinner I'll comm her and Peter. I'll get our exact ETA for this evening from Chekov and Sulu first to let her know when to expect me." He clasped Leonard on the shoulder. "Bones, there's no Security at the Fleet house right now, so I'd like for you, Spock, and Uhura to sleep on board tonight. We'll get Security back on duty tomorrow morning in time for the briefing. I've decided to convene everyone at the house. I'll have to let Jonathon know, since he's joining us."

"We'll do that, Jim. Don't worry about us. Now let's go get Gavin and get to the mess."

—-

 **1 "Return to Tomorrow" TOS Episodes**

 **2\. "Requiem for Methuselah" TOS Episode**


	21. Chapter 21

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 21**

" **The life given us, by nature is short;**

 **but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal."**

 **Cicero**

Jim parked his shuttle in the apartment complex garage. He had dropped Gavin off at home and he was anxious to get to his bed. It had been a long and weary day. The night shift security officers were on duty at his front door and saluted him as he walked up.

"Good evening, gentlemen. All quiet here?"

"Welcome back, Captain. Yes, Sir. It's been very quiet," one of the officers told him. "Your mother came out a while ago to bring us each a piece of cake that she'd baked and some hot coffee. It was much appreciated and the cake was delicious, Sir." The young Lieutenants both had a blissful look on their faces.

"Hope there's some left for me," Jim laughed. "My mother loves to bake."

"And she's mighty good at it, Sir. You're very lucky."

"I am indeed, good night, Lieutenants, and stay alert out here."

"Aye, Captain," they chorused.

Jim keyed in his code and entered the living area. His mother and T'Lane were both in the living room sitting on the sofa reading on their padds. "Jim, sweetheart. I'm so glad you're home." Winona got up hurriedly to kiss him. "Violet commed to tell me you'd be back this evening, so I thought I'd wait up and T'Lane was kind enough to keep me company."

Jim glanced at T'Lane and a swift silent communication was exchanged between them. _Was_ e _verything alright with my mother today?_

 _Everything has been well with your mother._ "Since you are here now, Cap...Jim, I will retire to my bed. Goodnight, Winona, Jim."

"Goodnight T'Lane. Thank you for keeping me company."

"Goodnight, T'Lane. Ma, I heard you baked a cake today, any chance that there might be a slice left over for your son?"

"Jim Kirk! As if I wouldn't save a piece for you. Come in the kitchen and I'll cut a piece for you," and, she added mischievously, "we won't tell Leonard. You can take the rest of the cake to your briefing tomorrow. Do you want coffee, sweetheart? We have decaf."

"Yes, thanks Ma, and for sure Bones will be none the wiser," Jim grinned. "And how did you know about my briefing tomorrow morning?"

"Violet told me that Gavin had to be up early tomorrow morning. I put two and two together and got a briefing."

"You're a very smart woman, Dr. Kirk."

"I know," Winona replied, dimpling. "How do you think I kept up with all you brilliant Kirk men?"

Jim snorted. "Speaking of Kirk men, how was Peter today?"

"A bit restless since we kept him in all day. I wasn't sure what you wanted to do about Security today, so we stayed in."

"That was the best thing to do, Ma." Jim stretched his spine and rotated his shoulders.

"You look tired, son," she handed him the cake and coffee. She sat down at the beautiful green glass dining table and tapped it gently waiting patiently for her son to tell her about his day.

"I am, Ma. I had a migraine this morning, but Bones took care of it right away. He thinks the extreme cold on Andor triggered it. Hadn't had one in a long time. Also it was a difficult interrogation." He began to tell his mother everything that had transpired on Andor, the decision he'd made to keep her phaser injury from the Andorian Magistrate, and the information Thoris had given them about Baghdassarian's house.

Winona listened carefully. "I'm glad you didn't tell them about my injury, Jim. I do believe it was an accident that I hit my head, and I don't think my injury is worth taking someone's life with the death penalty." Jim knew his mother would feel like that. She was the soul of compassion and kindness, killing anyone, even if it was the law of the land of another culture was completely abhorrent to her.

"So do you think you'll apprehend Baghdassarian tomorrow or the next day?" Winona asked breaking the comfortable silence.

"I do, Ma. He's still here on Earth in California, close to Santa Rosa, in the woods, so the sooner we can grab him the better or he might bolt." Jim sat back in the chair thinking about tomorrow. "Ma, if you think it will be good for Peter, and you want to go out somewhere tomorrow with him and T'Lane, I can have Security take you wherever you want to go. They'll have to accompany you, in any case, wherever you want to go."

"I think that's a good idea, Jim. Peter isn't used to being confined indoors so much. I think a trip to Balboa Park would be fun for him. He can run around as much as he likes and I'll take a picnic for everyone. What do you think? Would the park be a good place to take him?"

"Sounds good to me. It's peaceful, green, and has a nice play area too. Let me tell the Lieutenants. I think it would be best if you leave at mid-morning. A lot less people are out at that time since it's a work day. Also, I'll want security out of uniform; they'll be much less conspicuous that way. I came from the ship in one of our smaller shuttles, so you can use the rental."

"That's a good idea, son. Less alarming for everyone if the shuttle is unmarked and security is out of uniform. Peter will be happy and I don't think T'Lane has ever been to Balboa Park." She grinned. "Tell those two young Security men that lunch is on me. Poor things they've been eating ration bars except for the cake today." She yawned. "I'm off to bed now, dear, and I'd like for you to go straight to bed after you speak with the Lieutenant. You have that early briefing and you look very tired. I'll be up in the morning to make your breakfast."

"Ma!" Jim protested. "You don't have to do that."

"I want to, darling, it's not often I get to spoil you a little," she told him simply. She kissed him on top of his sandy head. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Ma. Love you." He watched her fondly as she left the room. A hot home cooked breakfast would be very welcome in the morning.

Jim rinsed his plate and mug and went out into the living room. The lights in the room were dimmed, and he stopped to take a deep breath and look around, realizing once more how smart he'd been to buy this apartment. The farm was home in the way that a house where you grow up in is home, but his ship and this apartment were home to him now.

As always when he'd been away from his apartment for a long time, he would take a moment to appreciate and savor his home. With the urgency of this mission, he hadn't really had an opportunity to do so until this moment. Since he'd brought Peter and T'Lane here, he hadn't had a single minute to relax, to just sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the Bridge and Bay from the big picture window. His eyes took in the comfortable furniture that he'd acquired; the big upholstered sofa and the two large arm chairs that had once belonged to his grandmother Davis, the two large landscapes of the farm and surrounding woods that his great grandmother had painted, their muted grays, greens, and browns softened by age hanging on either side of the fireplace, and the warm earth tone throw rugs from the farm that his mother had sent him.

Jim shook off his introspection, recognizing it for what it was, a way to relax his body and mind before he went to bed. He looked at the time before he went to the front door to speak to the security detail about their duties tomorrow. They'd be going off duty soon and return at 0900 tomorrow. The two of them listened carefully to Jim's instruction. "My mother will be using the rental shuttle and it seats six, so you'll fit fine in it. Also, I want you in civilian attire so you won't attract attention. My mother would like to leave at mid-morning, because the park will be less crowded at that time. And," he grinned, "she said to tell you that lunch is on her. She's going to prepare a picnic lunch for everyone."

The two Lieutenants grinned in response. "That's very kind of your mother, Captain," one of the Lieutenants said. "She's good people. Her cake was amazing. We'll take good care of them tomorrow at the park, don't worry, Captain."

"I know you will. Well, I'm off to my bed, good night, officers."

Jim took a quick sonic, set his alarm, quickly reviewed his notes for the briefing, and promptly went to sleep.

He woke, as he usually did, just before his comm alarm went off. After a quick shower, he dressed and went into the kitchen. His mother was already fixing breakfast. "'Morning, Ma," he said grabbing a mug for coffee.

"Good morning, dear. Sit down, your breakfast is ready." She heaped his warmed plate with scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, fresh fruit and buttered toast.

"Thanks, Ma." Jim looked keenly at his mother, eating quickly. "Everything's delicious. Did you sleep well? No headache?"

"I feel just fine, Jim, no more headaches and I'm looking forward to being out in the sunshine today. Peter and T'Lane will be too when I tell them." She glanced at the clock. "They should getting up soon."

"Your Daytime Security detail has been briefed. They'll be here at 0900 in plain clothes. Have fun and be careful." He put the last forkful in his mouth, wiped his lips, stood up and kissed his mother goodbye. She handed him a large container with the cake in it. "Tell everyone I said to be careful tomorrow morning...and to enjoy the cake."

"I will."

Last night he had sent a comm to Jonathon that the briefing would be at the Fleet house and had also sent him the main SF transporter coordinates along with his clearance. Gavin had offered to pick him up there and bring him to the house. The rest of the team, now including Giotto, Chekov, and Sulu, would arrive from the ship with Spock and Bones. Scotty and Uhura would work from the ship, Uhura monitoring their comms and Scotty manning the ship's scanners once the team was in place close to Baghdassarian's in the woods close to the house.

Yesterday afternoon, Bones had made it quite clear to Jim that he wanted to be included in the mission. As Gavin had predicted, Jim had told him no. There had been a very heated discussion about it. After all, Leonard had argued, he was the one who had been kidnapped and he had a vested interest in bringing Baghdassarian to justice. Besides that, he told Jim, what if someone was injured? He was the right person to help and he'd be in a perfect place to be the first responder. Spock, listening to the discussion, had cautiously agreed that it was logical to include a medical professional. Leonard nodded at him solemnly, biting his lip to keep from smiling, ignoring Jim's glare at the Vulcan and hiding his gratification at Spock's agreement. He assured Jim that he would take a fully packed medical field kit, and that his phaser would be fully charged. Jim had thrown his hands up in frustration, muttering about recalcitrant, stubborn doctors, and finally acquiesced, but only after getting Bones to promise that he would hang back behind Jim. He had stopped short of making it an order for Bones to stay behind on the ship, knowing that it would absolutely infuriate Bones, but he made sure the doctor knew he was not happy about his going.

He parked his shuttle in front of the Fleet house and saw that Security was back on duty and patrolling. Gavin's shuttle was already there and so was the _Enterprise_ shuttle; the rest of his crew had arrived. The security patrol saluted him as he approached the door. "They're all inside, Captain."

Jim, carrying, his mother's cake, opened the door. Everyone was seated in the living area. "Good morning, everyone."

"Mornin', Jim. Whatcha' got there in that box?"

"Ma sent some cake for everyone, we can have it with coffee when we finish the briefing," he informed them to their appreciative murmurs. "Jonathon, good to have you here," he added.

"Good to be here, Jim. Thanks for including me."

"Everyone's here, so let's get started." Jim put the cake box down, and pulled his padd from his jacket pocket. He and Gavin had made extensive notes yesterday, and he felt the two of them had covered all contingencies.

He flipped open his comm. "Kirk to _Enterprise_."

" _Enterprise_ here," Uhura's voice came in loud and clear.

"Are you and Scotty in place to participate in this briefing, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Captain. Mr. Scott and I are in your briefing room. Mr. De Salle has the con."

"Very well. Scotty, after we finish here, I want you to check the ship's scanners with a fine tooth comb, we're going to implement bio monitor checks. We'll be using the bio monitors for the mission tomorrow, and after this briefing, Bones will implant them, and we'll do a sensor check. Uhura, I want you to target the coordinates I gave you and try to pick up any chatter from the area. If you have to hack into any of the comms that are active in Baghdassarian's compound, do it. I know we don't usually do things like that, but we've got to remember that the outcome of this mission is so important that Admiral Nogura gave Gavin and I limited discretionary powers for its duration."

"Aye, Captain."

He turned back to the waiting team. "First order of business. Should we go in the middle of the night, or very early, at dawn?" He looked around and his gaze landed on his First Officer. "Mr. Spock, your opinion?"

"Sir." Spock steepled his fingers, thinking. "Since we do not know at what time Baghdassarian retires and he is, as Lt. Connolly has reported to us, a workaholic, he may be accustomed to retire very late. Therefore I believe ingress at dawn would be be more likely to take him and his guards by surprise."

"I agree with Spock, Jim. SIS has found that dawn is the time when diurnal beings are the least alert. It's usually when we conduct our raids and arrests."

"Anyone with a different opinion?" Jim asked. There was silence. "Very well, we'll go in at dawn tomorrow. Gavin has acquired a comprehensive holographic map of the area through the SIS scanners." He nodded to Gavin. "He's sending it to you now. Scotty, Uhura, you're getting it also," he said into his comm.

"We have them, Captain," Uhura said.

They all bent their heads to look closely at the detailed map. The large house was plainly visible. There was only a small area of cleared land around it, and there was a small shuttle parking area directly behind the house. When the house had been photographed yesterday evening, two shuttles had been parked there. The house and the shuttle pad were surrounded by thick dense woods with no visible pathways anywhere.

"Captain," Scotty's voice said. "Yae see the shadows on both sides, front and back of the house?"

"Yes, I see them, Scotty. Security, I'm sure."

"Aye, Sir. Don't know how many, but at least four I'm thinking. I'll get me sensors on them right away."

"It will definitely help to know how many armed guards Baghdassarian has." Jim peered closely at the map again and he made an instant decision. "Spock, inform the armory we'll need full body armor for 8 for our mission. I have no doubt the house guards are well armed and we'll take no chances. I don't want any of you to be hurt or felled by phaser fire. Tell them I want the body armor ready early this evening. I think we'll also need night goggles, we can't chance flashlights. There's only going to be a quarter moon, and that's not enough light at near dawn. Let Angelo know we'll need black shirts and black head masks. I want us to be invisible. There will be very little moonlight, and if we're all in black, chances are we can get pretty close to the house undetected by the guards. Have everything beamed in to this location by 1600 hours this evening, Scotty. Mr. Spock and Bones will be here to receive the equipment. We're going to depart for Santa Rosa from here. We'll take two shuttles, four to a shuttle plus all our gear."

"Keptin?"

"Yes, Mr. Chekov."

"I am wondering, Sir, if there might be motion sensors in the woods surrounding the house?"

"Good point, Chekov. Did you get that Scotty?"

"Aye, I did. I'll check on that. There doesn't appear to be a fence around the property perimeter, so there might be motion sensors placed there too. If I find any, t'would be easy to disable them remotely if need be. What about a house Security shield, Captain? Do you think Baghdassarian has one installed?"

"I don't know, he certainly wasn't prepared for my mother's at the farm, but I would say yes, just check on that too, Scotty and report back to me this afternoon."

"Aye, Captain. I won't disable anything until you tell me you're ready to enter the woods. I will need to bypass the alarm company's notification system so they're not notified."

Jim consulted his padd. "We'll meet here at 0300 and go by shuttles to the outer woods perimeter. Uhura, we'll do a comm check at that time."

"Yes, Sir."

"After the comm check, we'll walk toward the house in two separate groups. I'll take point for the first group, Chekov, Sulu, and Bones are with me. Gavin will take point of the second group, with Spock, Jonathon, and Giotto with him. One group will approach from the front, the other from the rear. We'll try to gain entrance from one side or the other. Once we're inside, we'll apprehend Baghdassarian, hopefully take him by surprise. We'll have to disable the outside guards first. Bones, can you prepare some fast acting sedatives we can use on the guards? I don't want them to be injured; they're only employees after all. They're probably just guys that need to earn a living that Baghdassarian hired from a security firm. There are 8 of us, so we'll split up in twos to subdue each guard, that's including Bones with his trusty hypos.

Leonard nodded. "I'll be able to do that, Jim. I have something in my arsenal that should keep them out for a couple of hours. That enough time?" He looked at Jim, his blue eyes shining under the lights as if to say _See I told you I'd be useful._

Jim returned the look. _Okay, you were right, Bones._

He turned his attention back to the group _. "_ Any questions, comments or concerns?"

"I have one," Jonathon said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Where am I going to sleep?"

Everyone laughed and Jim grinned. "Don't worry about it, Jonathon. You can crash on my sofa in the study; it's a fold out and very comfortable. Ma would never forgive me if I put you up in a hotel. She'll be very happy to see you. Did you bring your kit?"

"Yes, it's still in Gavin's shuttle."

Jim checked his notes one last time. He'd covered everything. "I think we're finished here. We'll all meet here at 0300 tomorrow morning. We'll be in Santa Rosa in 25 minutes and at the perimeter of the woods five minutes after that. So by 0345 we should be walking through those woods. Sunrise tomorrow is at 0711. Plenty of time to surprise and apprehend Baghdassarian." Jim stood. "Scotty, Uhura," he said into his comm. "I'm sorry you'll be missing Ma's cake, but I'll save you each a piece."

"I would appreciate it, Captain."

"Thank ye, Captain. Your mother's a bonny cook. The lass and I look forward to eating a bit of it."

"No problem, Scotty. Kirk out."

"Bones, go ahead and implant the bio monitors and we'll do that signal check." Jim grinned at the group. "After that, we'll eat us some cake, people!"


	22. Chapter 22

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 22**

" **There is safety in the very heart of danger."**

 **Vincent Van Gogh**

Jim watched as the big box filled with their body armor, night goggles, and all their black attire materialized into the center of the living room of the Fleet House. As usual Scotty's beam-in was right on the money. After their short break for cake and coffee, Jim sent everyone back up to the ship to get some rest. Bones had grumbled audibly under his breath about staying with Jim, Spock, and Jonathon, but Jim, always fluent in Bones' Speak, raised a _don't push it_ eyebrow and Bones had subsided. Also, after a little token protest, Jim had persuaded Gavin to go home to get some rest and enjoy a little family time with Violet and Davy. He would also, he told Jim, update Admiral Nogura on their final ingress plans.

"Violet and Davy will be glad to see you even if it's just for a few hours, Gavin. You'll be able to put Davy to bed tonight. We'll leave for Santa Rosa at 0300 on the dot, so just be back here at 023O to dress and don your gear," Jim told him. "No reason you have to sit around here waiting with us."

Jim then ordered everyone else to go back to the ship to get some rest. He, Jonathon and Spock decided to stay at the Fleet house. They crashed on the sofa, and on top of the beds for brief catnaps. Jim had even convinced Spock to rest for a while. "Mr. Spock, I'm well aware that Vulcans don't need as much rest as we humans, but it's important to get some while we have the chance." Jim's eagle eye caught Spock's tiny change of expression and he went in for the kill. "It's only logical to rest while we have the time and opportunity, Mr. Spock."

Jim acknowledged the beam in. "We got it, Scotty. Nice job on the exact coordinates." Jim leaned over the large box his hazel eyes intent. Spock hovered over him as he pulled each item out of the box one by one. At the last minute, Jim had requested ear pieces for their comm communication. That way Scotty and Uhura's voices would not be overheard by anyone other than the team. Unfortunately it would not work the other way around, transmissions from the team back to Scotty and Uhura could still be heard, but it would certainly lessen the sound of voices quite a bit. As they got closer to the house the team would go as comm silent as possible.

As Jim pulled each item out, he and Spock checked them carefully and methodically. Finally, Jim assured Scotty that everything had transported in good shape. It was really a redundant check, because the ship's Armory personnel meticulously checked body armor, phasers, phaser rifles, night goggles and all weapons on a monthly basis to be certain everything was in good shape. Replacements were ordered as soon as wear and tear was noticed. Crew lives were dependent on every single item in the armory being in perfect condition at all times. However, under these circumstances Jim wanted to be absolutely sure every item was perfect. His team members, except for Giotto and Gavin, were not combat trained like his Security crew, although they were in splendid physical condition since they all worked out regularly. Because of that, Jim would rather err on the side of caution and take extra care with their equipment.

"What do you say about our going out somewhere for dinner?" he asked Jonathon and Spock after they'd finished. "We can have an early dinner, then come back and get some sleep before the rest of the team beams back."

Jonathon and Spock agreed and, after some discussion, it was decided that Fisherman's Wharf would be a good choice for dinner. It would be relaxing to eat by the water and the food everywhere on the Wharf was excellent. Also, Jim knew there would be restaurants available for Spock to order vegetarian. Before they left, Jim commed his mother to let her know that he and Jonathon would not be returning to the apartment until Baghdassarian was apprehended and the mission was concluded.

"Just be careful, Jim; all of you be very careful. Remember that Baghdassarian is a man obsessed, so be prepared for anything. I'm glad that I'll be busy tomorrow at the park with Peter and T'Lane. It will keep me busy so I won't worry about you, sweetheart."

"You'll have a good time, and I promise you we'll be careful, Ma. We've prepared as thoroughly as we can." Jim gave an internal sigh. He and Spock always prepared for all their missions as carefully and thoroughly as possible, but it seemed that no matter how well they prepared, always, _always_ , there were unpleasant surprises. He had learned that very early in his Starfleet career. Jim had been a green lieutenant on his very first assignment on the U.S.S. Farragut when they had encountered the dikironium cloud creature on Tycho. It had killed Captain Garrovick and two hundred of the ship's crew. Since then, Jim had made it a point to be prepared for absolutely anything and everything that they might encounter during any of the _Enterprise's_ missions.

After finishing his conversation with his mother, Jim and the two men got to work and finished their preparations. They counted and set out the gear on the table in eight neat piles: black long sleeved shirts and black face hoods, thin black gloves, the body armor and night goggles, the ear pieces, and on top of each pile, the fully charged hand phasers. Jim added a canteen for water that he would carry, and he also added Bones' medical field kit to the doctor's pile. He knew Bones had already checked its contents or he wouldn't have let Scotty beam the med field kit down. Spock made sure to double check the hand phasers to be sure they were all fully charged.

"That's it. I think everything is ready, let's go have dinner. I'm hungry again." _Nerves_ , Jim thought.

He piloted the small _Enterprise_ shuttle to the Wharf and parked it in the huge designated parking area. "Don't forget where we've parked," Jim grinned at them, as they walked to the restaurant.

They had a delicious and leisurely dinner enjoying their down time with some light conversation. Jonathon and Jim kept their alcohol consumption to one beer, while Spock drank tea. Jim mindful of the insistent Bones' voice in his head, had the grilled Red Snapper with stir fried vegetables. Jonathon chose the stuffed crab with a baked potato, and Spock had the soy gumbo, which in spite of Jim's misgivings at his choice, looked delicious when it was brought to the table. They enjoyed some crusty bread with their meals, and afterward, Jim and Jonathon shared a dessert of bread pudding with their coffee. After their meal, they walked along the brightly lit wharf enjoying the sight of all the small yachts and sail boats that were berthed. "Always wanted one of these," Jim murmured, pointing to one of the mid-sized sailboats.

"They're really expensive, aren't they?" Jonathon, a lifelong resident of land locked Iowa, asked him.

"Yes indeed," Spock answered. "Very expensive. They cost almost as much as a small shuttle. Do you have plans to purchase one, Captain?" He asked.

"Nooo, I don't think so, Spock. Much too expensive and it would sit berthed most of the time not being used. Captains have very little time to indulge in such pastimes." He looked at the time. "We better be getting back. I want us to get some shuteye, 0230 will come soon enough."

The flight back to the Fleet house was mostly silent, each man preoccupied with his own thoughts. Jim, who along with Gavin, was in charge of the mission, once again went over the ingress plans in his head. He couldn't think of anything that had been overlooked or left to chance. Then, as was his custom, once he finished reviewing the mission parameters, he put everything about it out of his mind. All Starship Captains learned early on to compartmentalize, or they would soon burn out from the heavy demands of the job.

Jim landed the shuttle in front of the Fleet house, and as they walked up to the house he noticed that Security was still conspicuously patrolling. "You two go on in. I want to give Security some last minute instructions." He took the officer in charge aside to speak quietly with him. "Lieutenant, my team will arrive at 0230 and we'll leave at 0300," he informed him. "I'm not sure what time we'll return, but I want Security to continue patrolling. We may be bringing a prisoner back with us, but that will be up to Commander Bradford to decide. Stay alert even if there's no one here," Jim added.

"Aye, Captain. My men and I won't let our guard down. Good luck with your mission, Sir."

"Thank you, Lieutenant." Jim walked quietly into the house and locked the door behind him. He was amused to see that Jonathon was already sound asleep on the sofa, snoring softly. Law enforcement officers, like Starship Captains and Doctors fell asleep when ever and where ever they could. Jim went into Uhura's bedroom, now emptied of all her belongings, took off his boots, and stretched out fully dressed on the bed. He set his alarm for 0230, closed his eyes, and was instantly asleep.

At precisely 0230, three separate alarms rang throughout the house. Jim opened his eyes, took stock of himself, and sat up. He felt rested and ready for anything. He washed his face, and used the extra toothbrush and the toiletries Gavin had brought for them. He ran a comb through his sandy hair and decided a pot of coffee for everyone would set the world to rights.

When he walked into the living room, he could already smell the coffee. Jonathon had started the pot. "Good man, Jonathon," Jim clasped him on the shoulder in approval, grabbed a mug, and poured some for himself. "The rest of the team will be here any minute and I'm sure they'll want some too."

The silvery whine of the transporter alerted them. Leonard and Giotto materialized first and moved out of the way, then Sulu and Chekov transported in, and lastly Bones, muttering as always about his scattered atoms. The front door opened just then and Gavin walked in.

"Looks like we're all here. If you want coffee it's already made on the counter," Jim told them. "Let's suit up, gentlemen. We leave in 15 minutes. Gloves, hoods, and ear pieces can wait until we land."

The eight of them suited up in silence. They helped each other with the body armor which had complicated straps and fasteners, then everyone grabbed their phasers and communicators to clip on securely. Lastly, Leonard hefted his field med bag and draped it carefully across his body; he patted it happily. He never felt completely dressed on a mission unless he had his field bag right on him. He had outfitted it himself and checked it over carefully before allowing Scotty to beam it down. Besides the medical tricorder, he had preloaded a hypospray with cordrazine, the neural paralyzer Melenex that Jim had requested, some Tri ox compound, and a general heavy duty microbial. He'd also included his medical scanner, a dermal regenerator, and a spray applicator. Leonard felt as ready as it was possible to be on a mission with Jim Kirk.

Once everyone was dressed and ready. Spock checked each man's body armor to be sure it was well fastened and secured tight against the body, then they divided themselves into two groups to get into their respective shuttles. It would be Jim, as pilot of the lead shuttle, with Sulu as his co-pilot, and Bones and Chekov with him. Gavin would pilot the second shuttle with Spock as his copilot, and Jonathon and Giotto with him. Jim was happy the flight would be a short one, less time for nerves to develop, although back at the Fleet house everyone had seemed calm and steady. Even Bones had shown no signs of nerves. On their ships' comm, San Francisco Space Central cleared them to fly and they took off.

A short time later, Sulu's deep calm voice informed him, "Captain, we are presently flying over Santa Rosa. Our ETA is in 4.3 minutes."

"Find us a good place to land, Mr. Sulu, and inform Commander Bradford and Mr. Spock as soon as you locate a big enough area for both shuttles."

"Aye, Sir." Sulu was quiet for a minute searching. "Sending coordinates to your console, Captain, and to Mr. Spock and Commander Bradford."

Jim glanced at the coordinates and nodded. He began to being the shuttle down, and in his peripheral vision he saw Gavin's shuttle, just behind and to his left, also beginning to descend. Jim brought the shuttle in for a landing as smoothly and quietly as possible. Shuttle engines were not loud. Fleet engineers constantly upgraded their engines for stability, smoothness and noise. It was usually ships' shuttles that were used to transport Fleet personnel for First Contact missions, and it did not do to alarm indigenous and native populations with rough, loud, shaky shuttles.

After landing, Jim pulled out his comm and inserted his earpiece. "Kirk to _Enterprise_. Comm check," he said into both his personal and shuttle comms.

"Lt. Uhura here, Captain. We read you loud and clear."

"Good. Go ahead and check everyone's comm, Uhura. Be sure everyone has their ear piece on first."

"Aye, Sir." Uhura passed on Jim's order and began her comm check. "Commander Bradford,"

"Check."

"Mr. Spock."

"Check."

Uhura went through her check list one by one. "All comms sound loud and clear, Captain."

"Mr. Scott."

"Scott here, Captain."

"Activate all bio monitors now." Jim waited until Scotty responded.

"I'm showing eight bio monitors activated, Captain. Eight life signs are bright and steady."

"Excellent, Scotty. We'll be leaving the shuttles now. Keep an eye on both shuttles, Mr. Scott. Kirk out."

He opened his personal comm again. "Alright Gavin, let's get this show on the road. Mr. Chekov, open the shuttle door." Jim turned in his seat. "Ready, Bones?"

"You betcha, Jim."

"Remember, I'm on point, Chekov is at three, Sulu at nine and you're at my six, Bones."

"Yes, Captain."

"Let's head out."

The eight men gathered at the front of Jim's shuttle. "Scotty, we're ready, begin sending us your sensor readings of the woods and house." Jim said softly into his comm. He looked at the wooded area in front and all around them. The trees were tall, with thick wide trunks. They were old growth trees with leafy canopies meeting high above them. It was obvious this forest had been here undisturbed for many generations. Years of accumulated dropped leaves had made the ground spongy and soft, easy to walk on and great for dampening the noise of their booted footsteps. The quarter moon above them cast almost no light at all.

"Sending now, Captain," Scotty said into his ear piece.

Everyone looked down at their comms to see their walking path displayed on the map. Jim gave the order to put on their black gloves, hoods, and night goggles. He and Gavin took point and they began their walk into the dark, dense wood. The low hanging branches of the trees made it difficult to walk silently. Jim and Gavin would step forward a few paces to hold back the heavy, thick, low hanging branches then signal for their group to go through. It was slow, difficult going, and Jim soon had sweat poring off of him, his arms and shoulders beginning to burn under the weight of the branches he'd pull back.

"Let me take a turn, Captain," Sulu whispered.

Jim nodded and stepped back to follow Sulu. On the map, the distance to the house was only 3.2 kilometers. Ordinarily it wouldn't have taken very long for them to walk the three kilometers to the house since they were all in top physical condition. However with the thickness of the trees, it was going to take longer than Jim had anticipated. Thankfully dawn was still several hours away.

They kept walking at a steady pace, until Jim tapped Sulu's shoulder to take point again. He had cooled off and his arms and shoulders felt fine once again. When Scotty spoke into his and Gavin's ears, Jim raised his arm to stop as did Gavin.

Jim motioned for everyone to come close and group huddled together. "Scotty says the house is 600 yards directly in front of us," Jim whispered very softly. "We have to wait here. The motion sensors are set 500 yards from the house, they're all around its perimeter. Everyone, it's time to turn your comms on to Gavin's and my frequency. In 5 minutes Scotty is going to disable the motion sensors, mute the house alarm and bypass the notification to the alarm company. Let's sit and take a 5 minute break until Scotty gives us the all clear."

They sat silent and still on the spongy forest floor waiting for Scotty to do his magic. Jim passed around the canteen, knowing the hike had been strenuous and they were all hot and sweaty. Everyone took a large gulp of water, and Leonard, sitting next to Jim, passed it back to him. "You drink too, Jim," he whispered. "There's plenty left in the canteen and I don't want to have to treat you for dehydration later on. You and Gavin worked harder and sweated more than the rest of us with those heavy branches, and he's already drunk his share."

Jim drank. He was very thirsty, and Bones was right, he couldn't afford to get dehydrated. He looked over to Spock who looked fresh as a daisy. He had spelled Gavin with the heavy branches and hadn't even broken a sweat. Being Vulcan, his heat tolerance was much higher than the rest of them.

Scotty's voice came over Jim's and Gavin's comm. "Captain, all motion sensors are down, the house alarm is too, and I've interrupted the signal tae the alarm company. All of yae can start moving toward the house."

"We'll be heading toward the house now, Scotty. Can you see where the guards are? And how many?" Jim asked him softly.

"Aye, Captain. Still only four, two patrolling the front, two the rear. They're not stationary."

"Uhura, has there been any chatter to or from the house?" Jim asked

Her sweet voice came through his earpiece. "Negative, Captain. It's been quiet all evening. I imagine Baghdassarian is asleep by now."

"I certainly hope so," Jim whispered. "If you hear anything at all notify us immediately, Lieutenant"

"Of course, Sir."

Jim stood. "Alright, men it's time."

The number of trees had thinned as they walked carefully and silently toward the edge of tree line. It was obvious there had been some landscaping done, either by Baghdassarian or by someone else. Evergreen shrubs had been planted under the wide windows, and there was a graveled path leading to the front door with rose bushes planted on both sides of the path. Jim raised his hand to halt. The house was clearly visible through their night goggles, it looked large and imposing. It was made of natural stone with decorative dark shutters at every window and it had two large chimneys rising from its black slate roof. The front door was painted rust red. They couldn't see the back door from their location, but Jim was sure it was as sturdily built as the front door.

"Gavin," Jim whispered into his comm, knowing the whole team could hear him through their ear pieces. "Get ready, we're going in. My team will take out the back guards, you take out the front two. Every one ready?" He glanced around to see heads nodding.

"Let's go."


	23. Chapter 23

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 23**

" **Attack him where he is unprepared,**

a **ppear where you are not expected."**

 **The Art of War**

The two teams trudged silently through the thick trees, leaving behind the dark and mysterious woods made even more so by the shadows seen through the greenish glow of the night goggles. Jim raised his hand, his index and middle fingers up and spread open. It was the signal for them to split up. Jim, Bones, Sulu and Chekov, made their way to the back of the house, walking stealthily, silently across the manicured lawn. They reached the side of the house and plastered themselves against the stone wall closest to the back door, and Gavin and his team followed to do same closer to the front door.

Jim and his team could hear Scotty's voice clearly through their ear pieces. "Captain, the two guards are by the back door under the security lights. They're taking a break, drinking something, probably coffee, trying to stay awake." Scotty remembered all too well the effort it took to stay awake during Gamma shift when most of the ship was asleep and eerily silent. He knew that unless something was happening on the bridge, those on shift had to occupy themselves with something to do besides routine monitoring of the ship's systems in order to stay alert and awake.

"Me sensors show the same thing with the front guards, Sir," he continued in Jim's ear. "They must be on their allowed shift break."

Jim, still plastered against the wall, raised his hand and pointed two fingers to his eyes, then to the corner of the wall. He was going to look around the corner. He crouched down and crawled on his hands and knees while the others watched. He sat, pulled out his phaser and carefully peeked around. He could hear the faint murmuring voices of the guards as they sipped their drink. They were relaxed and complacent. Jim quietly crawled back to his men.

"Gavin, we're going to take them out now. It's a good opportunity while they're on their break and not really alert. If you can, you do the same," Jim whispered into his comm.

"Acknowledged." Gavin's whispered word was clear in everyone's ear piece.

"Sulu," Jim ordered. "I'm going to stand up and step to the right; you'll go to the left. I'll take the far guard; you aim for the closer one. Everyone, put your phasers on heavy stun, and Sulu, don't miss," he hissed. He waited until he saw that everyone had their phasers ready in hand. He breathed deeply, focusing all his command training on the two men they were going to shoot. "On the count of three….one, two, three!" Jim said softly. He and Sulu stood, came out from behind the wall, aimed and fired at the two tall guards brightly visible through their night goggles.

The two guards dropped like stones. They hadn't even had a chance to draw their own weapons. The rest of the team members might not be as highly trained in hand to hand combat as Jim, Gavin and Giotto, but not for nothing did they practice constantly with phasers. All of them were dead shots, and that included Bones and Jonathon. Jim and Sulu carefully approached the two downed guards and Jim bent to check that they were both unconscious. He felt their necks for a pulse and was relieved to feel that both men had steady, regular heart beats. Sulu checked them for other weapons, nothing.

"Okay, Bones. Time for you to inject them."

Leonard and Chekov came to them from behind the wall, and Leonard drew out the hypo from his med kit. "They'll be out an extra two to three hours after the effects of the phaser stun wears off, Jim. 'Course a lot depends on their metabolism," Leonard said as he injected the two men with the neural paralysis drug.

"Good enough," Jim said hearing the hiss of the hypo. He cocked his head to listen. "Gavin says both the front guards are out too."

Leonard nodded and made his way to the front of the house. The two guards had been dragged away from the front walk to the right corner of the house. Gavin already had the two confiscated phasers in his hand. Leonard checked them over carefully. They were strong, healthy, young men and Leonard was certain that all four would recover quickly from the stuns and the neural paralyzing drug. When he finished he nodded to Gavin and they all made his way around the corner back to Jim, Sulu and Chekov still waiting by the back door.

"Scotty, can you unlock the doors?" Jim asked softly, "and disable the security lights?"

"Negative, on the doors, Captain. They're not electronic locks. Both are old fashioned tumbler locks, me sensor readings indicate they're made of bronze, real antiques they are. Worth a bit, I'm sure. I canna' do naught with them from here, Sir."

"Of course they are," Jim muttered testily under his breath.

"Let me see about yon lights, though, they are electronic. Hold on for a bit, Captain."

Jim waited patiently while Scotty did his magic and suddenly the security lights went off. The quarter moon had gone behind the clouds and the whole area was now pitch dark.

"Good man, Scotty." Then to both teams. "Alright men, we'll have to destroy the door locks by melting them with our phasers. If we tried to break down the doors, even with Spock's Vulcan strength, it would be too loud. Gavin, we'll have to set our phasers on maximum to destroy the locks. Those old locks are strong, we have them on the farmhouse doors. Let's do it, we'll only use one phaser at a time, less light that way. The rest of you stand around us to hide the light."

He and Gavin took turns aiming their phasers at the door locks. They began to glow, first yellow, then orange, and finally red as the two phasers did their work and the locks were disabled.

"Alright, Scotty, the locks are done, now we need to see the interior of the house."

"Aye, Captain. Here we go...yae should be able to see it on your comm screens starting...now!"

"I see it. Gavin?"

"Yeah, I see it too."

"Okay we're going in."

"Acknowledged. We're all going in," Gavin ordered his men.

Jim pulled the back door open; thankfully it opened wide with no noise. The men walked in to what was a large kitchen area. Jim could see a stove and cooling unit, and stone counter tops topped with tall cabinets. There was a round wooden kitchen table surrounded by four chairs. According to the diagram of the house, the closed door separated the kitchen from the living room. It all seemed very homey and traditional, Jim mused, not ostentatious or high end at all, considering Baghdassarian's vast wealth. Gavin's team walked silently past Jim's team to investigate the living room.

"Captain," Scotty's soft voice came over his ear piece. "Sensor's indicate one human body in what appears to be the master bedroom, 30 feet to the right of Commander Bradford, and two more humans in another bedroom adjacent to the master."

"Damn," Jim whispered. Baghdassarian apparently had guests staying overnight. "Gavin come back to the kitchen," he said into his comm. "We have a complication."

The other team came back, closing the door quietly behind them. "Looks like we'll have to apprehend whoever else is here too," Jim told them. "It could be anyone, family, colleagues, hired thugs, there's no way of knowing. Gavin, you take the guest room, we'll take the master. I'm sure that's where Baghdassarian is. Scotty says he's alone."

"Here, Jim." Gavin handed him a pair of stasis cuffs. "I brought two, just in case."

Jim clipped the cuffs to his canteen strap. "Let's go." His team exited the kitchen first, followed closely by Gavin's. In the living room, they got their bearings according to Scotty's diagram. Jim led his team down a hall to the right, while Gavin's team went to the left. Both bedroom doors were closed. Jim raised his hand, one, two, three, fingers. "Go," he said, and he and Gavin opened the two bedroom doors at the same time. Jim could see the shape of a body covered by a comforter obviously deeply asleep. He drew closer, Bones right behind him, and raised his phaser. He motioned to Sulu and Chekov to go to the other side of the bed.

"Edward Baghdassarian, wake up!" Jim said loudly. "You're under arrest for breaking and entering, attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping. Wake up!"

The figure on the bed sat bolt upright. "What? What? Who are you? What do you want? Get the hell out of my house! How dare you come in here? How did you get in?" He ran an agitated hand down his face and reached for a button on the lamp table beside him. "Guards! Guards! There are intruders in my bedroom! Guards!"

"I'm afraid your guards won't be coming in to help you. They're outside incapacitated. Now get up and get dressed, you're under arrest."

Sulu and Chekov grabbed Baghdassarian roughly by the arms and pulled him off the bed. He began to struggle, yelling and cursing at them. "Let me go, damn you! How dare you. Do you know who I am? Stop! Whoever is paying you, I'll triple the amount, just let me go!"

At that, Jim pulled off his mask and so did the others. He handed the stasis cuffs to Sulu who pulled Baghdassarian's arms behind his back and cuffed him. "So now we can add attempted bribery to your other charges," Jim told him angrily.

Baghdassarian stopped talking and visibly pulled himself together. "Who are you? What do you want? Why are you in my house?" It was obvious that Baghdassarian was regaining his equilibrium, his voice had taken on the timbre of a man used to being obeyed.

"I'm Captain James T. Kirk, Starfleet, in command of the _USS Enterprise._ I, along with Commander Gavin Bradford, Starfleet SIS, am here to apprehend, arrest, and take you into custody. There are several very serious criminal charges pending against you, Mr. Baghdassarian. And before you go on you should know that your accomplice, Thoris the Andorian, has already confessed to these crimes and his complicity with you in committing those crimes. Presently, he is incarcerated in an Andorian prison. He has completely cooperated with our investigation and we have his legal written and recorded deposition."

At Jim's words, Baghdassarian paled and began to thrash again trying to get free from the cuffs.

Jim ignored him. "Chekov, find some clothes for our prisoner to wear. It's cold out. I'm afraid we'll have to dress you over your pajamas. Don't struggle or I'll have to stun you and transport you unconscious to Starfleet's SIS office. You will be allowed to contact your attorney after we arrive," he added, his voice cold and clipped. "Sulu, Chekov, get him dressed and get some shoes out for him to slip into."

Gavin's voice in his ear, interrupted. "Jim, we have the two other people who are in the house. They're Baghdassarian's parents." he lowered his voice. "I'm not sure how much they know about what's gone on. They seem completely bewildered and very upset and they're quite elderly. I'm beginning to think they don't have any idea of what their son has been doing."

"Bring the two of them into the living room, Gavin. They'll have to be interrogated too, informed of their son's arrest, the charges against him, and they'll have to go with us to the SIS complex."

Baghdassarian overhearing Jim's part of the conversation began struggling again. "Those are my parents, they're staying with me right now, they know nothing about this, absolutely nothing. Leave them out of it!"

"If they're innocent they will be released, but for now they'll have to be questioned. Just be aware that if they don't know anything about what you've been doing, finding out is going to come as a big shock to them."

Chekov and Sulu pulled him onto the dark living room. Jim ordered the lights back on. The obviously distraught elderly couple sat down on the sofa with Spock and Gavin flanking them on two sides and Jonathon and Giotto standing behind them. Bones pulled out his tricorder immediately to monitor their vitals. He looked up at Jim. "Both have elevated blood pressure, respiration and heart rate are rapid, some physical manifestations of agitation, shaky hands, weakened extremities. Otherwise, okay."

"Mr. and Mrs. Baghdassarian, my name is Captain James T. Kirk, Starfleet. I'm sorry to have to inform you that we are here to arrest your son who is being charged with very serious crimes against the Federation. Chief among them are breaking and entering, attempted robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping. These charges are both civil and Federal in nature. He will be allowed to contact his attorney once he's arraigned at Starfleet SIS headquarters."

"Edward, what is this all about? What have you done, my son? Why are you being accused of these crimes?" Mrs. Baghdassarian's shaky hand reached out to clutch her husband's. Her white face was bewildered and deeply distressed.

Jim noticed the badly trembling hand. "I'm sorry ma'am. I know this is shocking and very difficult for you. What I'm about to tell you is considered very sensitive information." Jim went on to explain in very general terms that Baghdassarian had tried to steal pharmaceutical research which was highly classified and secret and that he'd had an accomplice who had helped him. The accomplice was already in prison, and had confessed to all his and Baghdassarian's crimes. The two of them had tried to steal the research, and in the process, had committed more crimes. Because the research belonged to Starfleet and the Federation, Jim told them, Baghdassarian would be brought to trial in front of a Starfleet tribunal and the proof was so overwhelming, that there was no doubt their son would be incarcerated.

"But why, Edward, what possible reason could you have for doing these things? What research could possibly be so important?" His mother's tearful voice shook as she questioned him.

"I did it for you, mother, father, it was all for you!" His equally anguished voice answered her.

"For us?" His father looked shocked. "But Edward, why? You have always provided us with everything. Provided for our every need and much more than we could ever wish for. Oh my son, there isn't one more thing in this universe that we could want." He shook his head, looking even more shaken.

"Captain," Spock said somberly. "At this point, I see no harm in telling them about the nature of the plant. Now that I have completed all my genetic tests and have concluded that the plant DNA is completely incompatible with the human genome, the need for secrecy is nullified. There is no way to use it in humanoid species so there is no further need to hide its genetics.

Leonard nodded his agreement. "I verified Spock's results, Jim. He's right."

"Very well, Mr. Spock. Please explain to Mr. and Mrs. Baghdassarian about the plant DNA and your conclusions. Just make it simple and understandable, Spock."

And so Spock did. Jim, listening and watching the parents closely, saw the dawning horror on the elderly faces as they came to understand the nature of the plant DNA and its possible repercussions.

When Spock finished, Mr. Baghdassarian spoke. "Oh my son. Neither your mother nor I would ever wish for such a thing as immortality, nor your sisters or their husbands. Of this we are certain. It would be a horror beyond imagining. Why would you even think we would agree to such an abomination?"

Edward Baghdassarian looked stunned at his father's words and at his mother's weeping. "But...but...we would always be together, just our family. I would always have you and my sisters by my side, papa. I don't want anyone else, ever; just you, my papa, my mama, and my beloved sisters, there is no one else I trust, no one else I love."

"Oh Edward," his mother wiped her eyes and spoke softly. "To every life the end must come, for some sooner, for others later. That is the way of humanity, what makes life precious my son. Somehow your father and I failed to teach you this, and for that I sorely grieve. We have failed you."

"No, mama, no! You have been the very best of parents; no one could have been better parents than you and papa. No one could have done more!"

"Apparently, we were not good enough, my son. We have failed to teach you the most important lesson of all. That although human life is transitory, and may end, love does not, it lives on in our hearts and memories."

Edward Baghdassarian's face twisted in pain at his father's words. "No, no, papa! It's not enough. I want you and mama always!" He burst into loud weeping.

Jim looked at Gavin, his hazel eyes somber. Time to wrap this up. The guards would be waking soon, and a confrontation with them was the last thing he wanted. "I'm very sorry, but it's time for us to leave. Mr. and Mrs. Baghdassarian, you will travel in the shuttle with Commander Bradford. Your son will travel in our shuttle. We will meet at SIS headquarters where you will be questioned at length. Should you want to contact your attorney you will be given the opportunity to do so. Jonathon, please notify the Security Company that employs the guards that they have four men down that must be picked up. I'm sure their IDs have the company information. Identify yourself and explain who we are and what has happened here. Tell them that their men are fine, but that they might want to have them checked out once they're picked up. Give as little details as possible. Tell them if they have questions to contact the Vice Admiral at SIS."

"Will do, Jim. I'll comm the company from the shuttle."

"Alright, let's go. I'm afraid it's a long walk to the shuttles, but we'll take it slowly. Mr. and Mrs. Baghdassarian, please get dressed, wear something warm, and bring your identification with you. Mr. Spock will stay just inside your door. I'm sorry about your privacy, but it must be that way, someone must be present at all times."

The two parents nodded listlessly. They were past caring about details like that.

Spock stood just inside their bedroom door as they pulled out their clothes and shoes. He averted his eyes and turned his body sideways to give them a semblance of privacy. The two were soon dressed, down to their sturdy walking shoes and socks. As they left the house, Bones checked the guards again, and reported they were doing well. "They'll probably wake up in an hour or so, Jim."

"Hopefully we'll be long gone by then." The men put on their night goggles again, dawn was a long way off and it was still very dark as they entered the woods. Once again, Jim and Gavin took point, and once again, they had to move the thick branches aside to let the others walk through. Jim and Sulu took turns again, and Spock did it for the other team. They walked side by side a couple of yards apart, which made it much easier to keep track of everyone and the prisoners. It didn't take quite as long to get back to the shuttles this time. Jonathon strapped Baghdassarian in securely, but all the fight seemed to have gone out of him and he put his head back against the bulkhead and closed his eyes. On his own comm Jim heard Jonathon making his call to the Security Company. Sulu took his seat as copilot and Jim lifted the shuttle up, with Gavin close beside him. The flight back to the SIS complex was silent and brief as Gavin had radioed ahead a security detail was waiting for them. The three prisoners were transferred over to them quietly and efficiently.

"Put them in the brig, Lt. Josef. Make sure the elderly couple are comfortable. I'll be there shortly after the Captain and I make our report to Admiral Nugura and then I'll take care of the paperwork for the prisoners."

"Aye, Commander."

Jim looked at his crew standing patiently waiting. "Bones, Spock, why don't you take one of the shuttles and all of you go back to the Fleet house. I'll meet you there as soon as I'm finished here."

A"Are you certain you will not need us, Captain? Commander Bradford?"

"It's all reports and paperwork now, Spock. We'll be fine. I'll drop Jim off at the Fleet house in a while and head on home. We all need some sleep and a good breakfast."

"Very well, Commander."

Leonard covered a yawn. Lord, he was tired; it'd be good to get some sleep. "Jim, you and Gavin keep an eye on those elderly folks, they've had a severe shock, and I don't like the look of that mama. She's too pale."

"We'll have our staff doctor look in on her, Leonard, I promise." Gavin was already moving through to his office door, eager to finish his paperwork."

"I can go ahead and comm the Admiral, Gavin," Jim said. "Save you some time."

"Thanks, Jim. I'd appreciate it. He'll be very relieved that we've got Baghdassarian. The worst is over."

"Amen to that," said the weary Jim.

Jim made his report to the Admiral and, indeed, he told Jim he was very relieved and happy to have this mission completed successfully. "Captain, tell Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy to send me their report on the plant research along with their conclusions. I'm going to bury this fiasco so deep, no one will be able to find and resurrect it, no pun intended."

Jim snorted. "Good one anyway, Sir."

"You and Commander Bradford did good work, Jim. Commendations for service to the Federation and Fleet will be put in your records. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I don't want even a mention of that plant research, nullified or not, anywhere in the mainframe. Someone could get another bright idea about looking into it again."

"We understand, Admiral. Thank you."

"Get some rest, all of you, and please give my regards to your mother. By the way, Jim, I'm authorizing 5 days of shore leave for you and your crew, enjoy it. Nogura Out."

"Thank you again, Admiral. My crew will be very pleased. Kirk out."

Jim waited patiently for Gavin to file the arrest warrant. The Baghdassarian attorneys had been notified and would be there later. Meanwhile he and Jim could leave the rest in the capable hands of other officers who were on duty.

Gavin dropped Jim at the Fleet house. They would vacate it after their naps and a late breakfast. Jonathon would go with Jim to the apartment, the others would beam back to the ship. Jim would tell the crew the good news about shore leave while they waited for their new orders for their next mission.

Jim walked up to the bright blue door and dismissed the security officers with his thanks. The Fleet house was quiet when he went in. Everyone was already asleep and there was no place left for him to lie down, he'd have to doze on the recliner. He smiled to himself, the recliner was comfortable and he'd long ago learned the knack of sleeping wherever and whenever he could.

Sometime later, he awoke suddenly to his comm buzzing. Jim wiped at his face groggily. "Kirk here," he said softly, glancing at the still sleeping Jonathon on the couch.

"Jim."

"Gavin, what's wrong?"

"I've just been notified. Mrs. Baghdassarian had a massive heart attack. She's dead, Jim. Our doctor did all he could, he worked on her unceasingly for over an hour. He couldn't save her."

"Does Baghdassarian know?" Jim asked, shocked.

"Yeah, he was told and he totally lost it. The doctor had to sedate him."

"Damn it, Gavin! That poor woman. She didn't deserve that kind of death. Ironic isn't it? Baghdassarian wanted to make his mother and father practically immortal, instead, by his actions, he caused his mother's death. It's a damn tragedy, that's what it is."

Jim could hear Gavin swallow hard. "Yeah, Jim, it is."


	24. Chapter 24

**The Infinity Particle**

 **Chapter 24**

 **Epilogue**

" **True, it's not over till it's over.**

 **And even when it's over, it just begins again."**

 **Kate McGahan**

Jim sat at his desk in his study. He closed his comm after checking on his ship, all was well on board. Spock, Scotty and Lt. Hannity, were taking turns at the con, but really there was very little to. The _Enterprise_ was mostly empty of the crew as they were all down planet enjoying their San Francisco shore leave. Bones had told Jim most emphatically to not even think about coming back on board until his shore leave was over. He, Spock, and Nyota would come and go from the apartment to the ship, but Jim was to stay put and enjoy his time off with his family. T'Lane too, was going back to the Vulcan embassy at night so Jonathon could sleep in the study, but during the day she was still coming to the apartment every morning to be with Peter and Winona, and, to her ill concealed delight, Winona's continuing cooking lessons as their schedule allowed.

This morning Jim and Gavin had an early appointment for their final debrief with Admiral Nogura. There had been a few details to tie up at SIS headquarters and those details had fallen to Gavin. He had been the one to make all the arrangements for the release of Mrs. Baghdassarian's body, and, he reported to Jim, Edward Baghdassarian was in deep mourning, broken hearted, despondent and wracked with guilt about the death of his mother.

The elder Mr. Baghdassarian had been released very soon after the sudden death of his wife when it became apparent that he knew nothing of his son's crimes. He had been heartbroken by his wife's death and, as soon as her body had been released, he had taken her body back to their home on Solano I for burial. He'd been accompanied by his equally distraught daughters who had come to Earth quickly to share in his grief and accompany their mother's body home.

Edward Baghdassarian had been formally arraigned after his father and sisters' departure. Presently, his attorney was trying to arrange for bail, but so far it had not been granted. Gavin's boss, Admiral Corrigan, not only considered Baghdassarian a flight risk, but also a suicide risk, so he was working hard to make sure that bail was denied. Gavin had added his own agreement with the Admiral's concerns.

Yesterday, Winona had convinced Jonathon to take a couple of days off plus the weekend. That way he could stay for the party, and, she added persuasively, Jonathon seldom took any time off from his job. After some discussion, Jonathon had finally agreed. In return he offered to take Winona and Peter back to the farm in a rental shuttle on Monday morning.

Jim smiled to himself as he had listened to Winona's attempt to convince Jonathon. He could have told him just to give in gracefully at the beginning of the conversation. Many men other than he had been unable to say no to Winona Kirk. Admiral Nogura came to mind, as did Jim's father, Sam, Gavin, Bones, Father Joe, Jim and even Spock. It was almost impossible to ever deny his mother, mostly because Winona invariably tried to persuade someone do what was right, loving or helpful.

With Jonathon's stay happily settled, Jim had quickly made plans to ensure his five days of shore leave with his friends and family were filled with fun. There had been outings planned for Peter's entertainment and for Jonathon's too, since the man had never before strayed far from Riverside.

First they had gone on a Dolphin Watch. Jonathon, T'Lane, and Peter had never seen live Dolphins, and they had been enthralled as they watched the beautiful creatures play and frolic around the boat. Jim had also flown them to Idaho to see the Craters of the Moon. It was something Jim had always wanted to see...a combination of an ancient lava bed and dormant cinder cone volcanoes and fissure lava flows. Spock commented that the volcano area looked remarkably like Vulcan. To Bones' chagrin, they had also had a day of hiking through parts of Yosemite, and he'd muttered testily the whole time they hiked about possible sprained ankles and broken bones on the rough terrain. Uhura had met Jim's eyes and put herself in charge of constantly reassuring him that everyone was being cautious and that he had his sick bay medical bag just in case.

Today, though, they were staying home. It was Saturday and this evening Winona was hosting a party for the command crew and a few select friends. Jim had offered to have the food catered, but Winona had been so horrified at the idea, that he'd given it up immediately. She would have plenty of help, she told Jim, and it would be fun to cook for everyone. She had already shopped for all the ingredients, and the grocery store bot would deliver everything this morning. The menu was simple, and Nyota, T'Lane, Violet and Leonard had promised to help her with the cooking and baking. If Jim, Jonathon, and Peter would give the apartment a good cleaning, set up the buffet table for the food, and move the furniture around to provide sitting and mingling areas, everything would fall into place beautifully. Gavin had offered to baby sit with Davy so Violet could enjoy her time with Winona so he was off the help list.

With everyone helping it would be a piece of cake, Winona assured her bemused son. It was, after all not going to be a very large party, only about a dozen people more or less, plus the children. Smiling, Winona had handed Jim the menu. "Here, dear. See? A very simple buffet. Now stop worrying. You and Gavin can go to your briefing and then you'll be free the rest of the day." Jim read the padd with Jonathon looking over his shoulder.

Baby lettuce salad , Potato salad, Buttermilk baked chicken drumsticks and wings, Baked Mac and cheese. Crusty bread, Apple pie, Peach pie, Pecan pie, Beer, Wine, Soft drinks.

The two men had looked at each other. "Who am I to stand in the way of this bounty," Jim grinned.

"Don't even think about it, James Kirk. I don't get food like this every day," Jonathon had frowned at him.

This morning, Gavin with Davy accompanied by Violet and Nyota who had spent the night with them, had come to pick up Jim for their meeting with Admiral Nogura. The plan was to leave Violet and Nyota for the day to help Winona. Presently, Davy was playing with Sorrel and Peter until Gavin and Jim got back from the Admiral's briefing. Then Gavin would whisk the toddler home until the evening when they'd both return for the party. It was still a little too early to leave for their briefing, so he sat perched on the corner of Jim's desk. "I don't know, Jim. Baghdassarian's mental state is precarious. His father and sisters refused to speak to him before they left yesterday. They blame him completely for the mother's death. We've got him on suicide watch and we're in the process of arranging a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation of him," Gavin shook his head. "He's still eating, but very little really. At this point, I even wonder if he'll be in any shape for his Fleet Tribunal trial."

Jim agreed. "If he continues like he is, I doubt it, Gavin. He's coming to terms with the fact that he's lost everyone he wanted to keep with him forever. His mother is dead and his father and sisters are now completely estranged from him. If that isn't the height of irony, I don't know what is. I'm sure he feels he has nothing left to live for." Jim got up from behind his desk. "We better get going; we don't want to be late. This shouldn't take very long, Jonathon. Admiral Nogura is a very busy man. Gavin and I will make it a fast debrief and we'll be back as soon as we can to help out."

"Peter and I'll get started on the cleaning, don't worry about it." Jonathon was sitting in one of the comfortable chairs in the study, reading one of Jim's precious real paper books. He had put down his book to listen with interest to Gavin and Jim's discussion of Baghdassarian's mental state. In his career of law enforcement, Jonathon had seen that same reaction many times. It seemed that once a criminal was caught and put behind bars, they often descended quickly into guilt, despondency, and depression.

Jonathon shook off his introspection; it was time to focus on the task at hand. This party was at 7 this evening, and there was still a lot to do. Winona, Nyota, T'Lane, and Bones were doing all the cooking and baking while the men would be doing all the cleaning of the apartment.

The door chime rang just as Jim and Gavin walked into the living room. "I've got it, Ma," Jim called out. "Gavin and I are on our way to the briefing. I'll be back in an hour or so, " he opened the door to find Leonard standing there with a couple of padds under his arm.

"Bones," Jim said in surprise. "What are you doing here so early?"

Leonard's blue eyes gleamed. "I'm the one who's gonna' bake the pies, Jim. Got my Granma's recipes for pecan, apple and peach pie right here. Winona asked me if I'd bake them, and of course I said yes."

"Of course," Jim murmured. "Come in then, everyone's already in the kitchen, except Davy, Jonathon and Peter, they're going to start cleaning the house. Gavin and I are on our way to Admiral Nogura's Office. Nyota, Violet and T'Lane got here pretty early," he said, as peals of laughter came from the kitchen.

Leonard grinned. "Well I'ma gonna' join the fun. Spock will come this evenin'," he said. "So will Chekov, Sulu, Scotty, Giotto and Angelo. You and Gavin have a good time with the Admiral, Jimmy."

Jim snorted and closed the front door.

"You know we're going to miss a lot of the fun," Gavin told him a little sadly.

"I know it," Jim said, "but duty calls, more's the pity," he sighed.

It took about an hour to debrief with the Admiral. When he heard about Baghdassarian's mental state, the Admiral looked somber. "Be sure to keep a very close eye on him, Commander, around the clock. I want him tried before the tribunal to receive his just punishment for his crimes. His obsession with that plant DNA caused a lot of pain and grief." Nogura stood. "Captain, Commander, thank you. The Fleet and the Federation owes you a great deal. You're dismissed."

Jim and Gavin saluted, relieved that the last of their responsibilities for the mission were concluded.

"Hope they haven't had too much fun without us," Gavin ginned, as they left. "And that Davy hasn't been in the way."

"They have," Jim chuckled, "and Davy is never in the way. Everyone adores that baby. How he stays unspoiled is a mystery to me."

"He's a very sweet baby," Gavin said seriously. "I love him like he was my own."

"He'll always think of and love you as his father, Gavin, and so you have been," Jim said, thinking of his own wonderful father and of Peter, who had lost a great dad.

When they entered the apartment, it was obvious that some cleaning had already been done. The living room smelled of lemon polish and not a speck of dust could be seen. They heard Davy's deep baby chuckle and Peter's "hold on tight Davy," from the study. There were very good smells coming from the kitchen, but curiosity led the two men straight to the study. Jonathon was leaning against Jim's desk, arms crossed, keeping a close eye on the two children. Peter was pushing the big dust broom that Jim had bought for his wooden floors. Davy was sitting on it. His little bottom was on the wide soft broom part and his little legs and arms were wrapped tightly around the pole. Peter was pushing the broom gently back and forth to the delight of the toddler. Jonathon looked over as the study door opened and grinned widely. Jim snapped a quick holo to take with him back to the ship.

"Daddy," Davy crowed. "Horsey! Jim! Jim! Horsey!"

"I see." Jim stooped to pick him up. "When your mama and daddy take you to the farm, you can ride on Ginger...a real horsey, Davy. Peter will help you, he knows how to ride Ginger." He smiled at Peter over Davy's head.

"Come on, Davy. You and daddy are going to run some errands. We'll come back later. Tell everyone bye, bye." Gavin took him from Jim, who kissed the blond curly head.

"Bye, Bye," Davy said obediently.

After Gavin left with Davy, Jim checked in with the cooks. Bones had two pies cooling on the counter and two more in the oven. "They look amazing, Bones, and smell wonderful."

"They came out pretty good, if I do say so myself." Leonard said, looking smug. "Out of the way, Jim, two more pies comin' out of the oven."

Jim backed away. "What else can Jonathon, Peter and I help you with, Ma?"

"Check the bathrooms for fresh towels, son, and then why don't the three of you push the dining table against the wall and set out the plates, napkins, glasses and utensils. Everything is already washed. I got out the big tablecloth so you can use that. We're almost finished with all the prep work here. Violet and Nyota have helped me tremendously with that. We won't put the chicken, the bread and the Mac and cheese in the oven until very late this afternoon. It's a very good thing you have a double oven, dear, I'll need both of them. The beer, wine, and potato salad are chilling." Winona beamed at T'Lane. "I didn't have to do a thing with the potato salad, T'Lane made it by herself. We've all tasted it and it's delicious."

T'Lane's cheeks flushed a faint green at the praise. "I am gratified it was to your liking, Winona."

"After we clean up in here, there's nothing else for us to do until late this afternoon, son."

"Then why don't I order take out for lunch for all of us," Jim told her.

After lunch Bones and Nyota went back to the ship, and T'Lane went back to the Embassy. Jim insisted that his mother and Violet rest for a while. Since Peter was going to be up late, Jim persuaded him to read on the sofa with him. Peter lay with his head in Jim's lap, while he read. Jim carded his fingers gently through the thick ginger hair and before long the padd slipped through the child's fingers and he slept too. Jim and Jonathon also closed their eyes and dozed.

Promptly at six, the door chime rang. T'Lane appeared dressed in a soft royal blue tunic and dark loose plants. "Good evening, Jim. I have returned to help Winona with last minutes tasks before the festivities begin."

"Come in, T'Lane, Violet and Ma are already in the kitchen. The ship's crew should be here in a while. They're all coming together in one of the shuttles."

Everything for the party was soon ready. Gavin came in carrying Davy in his arms. The toddler squealed excitedly when he saw Peter and Sorrel, so Gavin put him down. Violet laughed at her son. "He doesn't get nearly that excited when he sees me," she gave him a smacking kiss, as he scrambled away. She looked very pretty in her red top and black slacks. Jim, Gavin, Jonathon, and Peter were dressed casually in jeans and soft sweaters.

The dining table was groaning with all the food and beverages on it, and there was soft music playing in the background. The command crew, along with Scotty, Frank Giotto, and Angelo Toriano arrived and soon the party was in full swing. There was scintillating conversation, a lot of mingling, great food, and happy laughter among the guests. Even Spock and T'Lane seemed to be enjoying themselves in their subdued Vulcan way. Jim looked around with pleasure. His crew and family meant everything to him, and to see them enjoying themselves, partaking of his hospitality, and his mother's delicious recipes, warmed him through and through.

"Nyota, why don't you and Angelo sing something for us before the party breaks up," Jim suggested. "I know we'd all enjoy it. Maybe Spock could accompany you. Peter has Sam's guitar here, he's been learning how to play it and he's been practicing."

Uhura looked at Angelo and he nodded. "We'd love to, Jim. Mr. Spock?"

"Of course. I'd be honored to accompany you," Spock told her, and Peter ran into his room to get his father's guitar.

Uhura, Spock, and Angelo put their heads together and conferred softly. Angelo and Uhura stood in front of the picture window, while Spock sat in a chair beside them. The lights from the bay and the bridge made a beautiful backdrop for them.

"This is a romantic Italian song from the early 20th century. Angelo taught it to me in Italian and Mr. Spock, Angelo and I have performed it a couple of times. It's called "Luna Rosa". We'll sing it first in Italian, and then in English." She nodded to Spock and he strummed the opening cords. Angelo's rich tenor and Uhura's beautiful soprano blended beautifully as they sang the lovely lyrics while the guests listened, enchanted.

 **Luna** **Rosa**

Ll'uocchie sott''o cappiello annascunnute,

mane 'int''a sacca e bávero aizato...

Vaco siscanno ê stelle ca só' asciute...

Fischio...

E 'a luna rossa mme parla 'e te,

Io lle domando si aspiette a me,

e mme risponne: "Si 'o vvuó' sapé,

ccá nun ce sta nisciuna..."

E i' chiammo 'o nomme pe' te vedé,

ma, tutt''a gente ca parla 'e te,

risponne: "E' tarde che vuó' sapé?!

Ccá nun ce sta nisciuna!..."

Luna rossa...( **1** )

Oh luna rossa, you're smart at love

You know I'm playing the part of love,

I try my hand in the art of love,

Just for the thrill and glow of it.

Luna rossa, forgive me, luna rossa,

For the vows I made tonight that are untrue,

What else am I to do?

But blushing moon, there's a reason why,

The love I longed for has passed me by,

And so I play at the game but I,

I am lonely, luna rossa.

—

 ** _1 Luna Rossa excerpt by Vian / De Crescenzo. English lyrics by Kermit Goell_**

 **As always my gratitude goes out to my friend Carol across the pond. Her help is invaluable. I also want to thank my friend Joyce who had the lovely idea of having Uhura and Angelo sing a duet. I could hear the two of them singing perfectly in my head. :) Thanks, Joyce.**

 **A big thank you to NaginiFay for the idea of the shuttle trip to the Craters of the Moon.**


End file.
